THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 


The  Grand  Assize 

As  Reported  by  a  Humble  Clerk 


BY 
HUGH  CARTON    ^5 


"No  man  shall  cry  if  I  can  help  him." 

—  LIGHT  OF  ASIA 


GARDEN    CITY  NEW   YORK 

DOUBLED  AY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
1914 


Copyright,  1914,  by 

DOTJBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved,  including  that  of 

translation  into  foreign  languages, 

including  the  Scandinavian 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    THE  COURT 3 

II.    THE  PLUTOCRAT 9 

III.  THE  DERELICT 24 

IV.  LA  GRANDE  DAME 37 

V.    THE  YELLOW  PRESS 52 

VI.    THE  PHILISTINE 65 

VII.  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY 79 

VIII.  THE  AGITATOR 93 

IX.  THE  ACTOR 107 

X.  CIRCE 120 

XI.  THE  SENTIMENTALIST 134 

XII.  THE  BOOKMAKER 147 

XIII.  THE  PARASITE. 162 

XIV.  MEPHISTO 176 

XV.  THE  DRUNKARD 188 

XVI.  MRS.  GRUNDY 203 

XVII.    THE  CLERIC 215 

XVIII.    THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN 231 

XIX.  LA  CROUPIERE.      ........  246 

XX.    THE  TRAITOR  —  1915  A.D 260 

ENVOI 273 


2134952 


THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 


The  Grand  Assize 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  COURT 

THE  arrangements  of  the  Court  were  simplicity 
itself,  and  the  Royal  Arms  were  deemed  unneces- 
sary in  view  of  the  character  of  the  Judge.  Out 
of  respect  for  each  defendant,  whose  trial  was  half  con- 
versational and  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  private  inter- 
view, there  were  neither  ushers,  police,  nor  any  other 
indication  of  force.  This  was  to  avoid  the  horror  of 
exposure,  which  is  apt  to  defeat  its  object  —  namely, 
the  essential  truth.  Still  more  striking  was  the  wisdom 
which  frustrated  public  curiosity  and  helped  to  minimise 
the  self-consciousness  of  the  men  and  women  whose 
interests  were  at  stake. 

The  dilemmas  of  each  were  treated  with  becoming 
respect,  which  created  a  confidence  impossible  before  a 
crowd.  The  Judge  had  never  at  any  time  been  seen  by 
the  accused,  though  between  them  there  had  been  a 
mystic  relationship  often  unacknowledged  and,  in  most 
instances,  stoutly  denied.  The  lack  of  formalism  did 
much  to  banish  hypocrisy  and  perjury  from  the  Court, 
each  prisoner  being  his  own  accuser  and  being  impelled 

3 


4  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

to  tell  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  No 
prosecutor  painted  his  offence  in  lurid  terms,  but  the 
conscience  of  each  was  relied  on  to  set  forth  his  guilt. 
Such  thoughtfulness  touched  the  oldest  offenders,  and 
the  coals  of  fire  thus  heaped  on  their  heads  burned  them 
into  a  purity  so  long  trifled  with  that  any  save  the 
Judge  would  have  regarded  it  as  irrecoverable. 

The  absence  of  vindictiveness  was  a  surprise  to  cul- 
prits who  had  been  accustomed  to  look  on  punishment  as 
an  end  in  itself  and  had  spent  their  lives  in  striving  to 
evade  it.  For  years  they  had  listened  to  truisms  on  the 
subject,  but,  though  they  had  often  excused  themselves 
on  the  ground  of  inconsistency  in  those  whose  office  it  was 
to  rebuke  them,  they  had  as  often  resisted  their  own 
conscience.  They  had  found  it  a  solace  to  remember 
that,  since  all  were  in  the  same  boat,  the  affair  could  not 
be  so  desperate  as  alleged.  The  result  was  an  admixture 
of  terror  and  flippancy,  a  poor  preparation  for  their  ulti- 
mate trial,  which  completely  differed  from  what  they 
had  been  led  to  expect.  There  was  no  suggestion  of  an 
account  to  be  settled,  but  the  single  aim  of  rectifying 
things  appeared  to  predominate,  and  none  could  help 
subscribing  to  this  or  recognising  its  usefulness.  The 
fact  was  brought  home  to  each  that  their  summons 
formed  no  portion  of  a  cruel  code,  imposed  by  Omnipo- 
tence on  the  helpless,  but  that  it  was  part  of  their  evo- 
lution as  designed  by  a  beneficent  Power. 

The  Judge's  seat  was  on  a  level  with  that  of  the 
prisoner,  the  intention  being  to  put  the  latter  at  his  ease, 
though  not  for  an  instant  could  the  most  hardened  have 


THE  COURT  5 

taken  any  advantage.  No  witnesses  were  called  on  be- 
half of  the  accused,  the  counsel  for  the  defence  sum- 
marising all  that  could  be  said  in  his  favour,  as  alone 
cognisant  of  the  road  which  had  led  to  the  result.  The 
emptiness  of  the  room  created  an  awe  greater  than  any 
assembly  could  have  inspired,  yet,  in  spite  of  the  silence, 
there  was  a  sense  of  hope  uplifting  from  the  slough  of 
despond.  In  short,  the  Court  resembled  a  home,  but 
the  chances  of  truth  were  increased  by  the  change,  con- 
veying an  impressive  lesson  as  to  how  the  heart  may  be 
reached  and  human  beings  not  so  much  driven  as  en- 
ticed towards  honesty. 

None  of  the  prisoners  need  have  appeared  for  actual 
judgment,  and  it  should  be  made  clear  that  only 
the  self-satisfied  found  themselves  in  the  dock.  Oppor- 
tunities of  anticipating  such  a  crisis  by  judging  them- 
selves had  been  constantly  offered,  and  it  was  only  after 
persistent  refusal  to  make  use  of  them  that  they  were 
brought  up  at  the  Grand  Assize.  This  may  best  be 
described  under  a  metaphor  familiar  to  those  acquainted 
with  ordinary  criminal  proceedings.  The  option  is 
granted  to  many  prisoners  of  being  dealt  with  by  the 
Magistrate  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  the  Sessions, 
which  is  virtually  a  gamble  between  liberty  and  a  longer 
sentence,  let  alone  the  intervening  comfort  of  postpone- 
ment. In  the  case  of  those  who  abide  by  the  decision 
of  the  Magistrate  fear  of  further  reprisals  ceases  just  so 
long  as  his  conditions  are  complied  with.  Each,  how- 
ever, is  liable  to  be  called  up  again  by  the  same  Magis- 
trate as  occasion  arises.  To  all  who  loyally  work  out  the 


6  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

penalty  assigned  comes  a  peace  beyond  the  understand- 
ing of  its  possessors,  but  unknown  to  those  who  decline 
the  volunteered  discipline.  Others  perpetually  elude  the 
summons,  and  still  more  skip  their  bail,  preferring  to 
chance  a  future  which  means  less  and  less  to  them  in  pro- 
portion as  they  despise  it,  rather  than  be  thwarted  in  the 
smallest  detail. 

The  advocate  for  the  prisoner  was  both  strong  and 
tender,  being  filled  with  compassion  for  the  position  of 
his  client,  and  incarnating  the  special  angel  supposed  to 
wait  on  every  individual  born  into  the  world.  All 
eloquence,  save  that  of  genuine  pathos,  was  banished 
from  the  Court,  and  language  was  no  longer  used  as  a 
vehicle  for  distorting  truth.  For  this  reason  the  effect 
of  speech  was  tenfold  in  its  intensity,  based  as  it  was  on  a 
love  which  had  never  failed,  and  which  could  always  find 
gold  in  the  clay,  though  at  tunes  the  particles  were  ex- 
tremely small. 

When  the  Judge  took  his  seat  there  was  no  disturbance, 
and  his  entrance  was  hardly  noticed.  It  seemed  as 
though  he  was  waiting  on  the  convenience  of  the  ac- 
cused, and  as  if  his  object  was  to  show  greater  honour  to 
the  parts  of  the  body  politic  most  requiring  it.  There 
was  no  sense  of  superiority,  nor  did  he  fail  to  display  that 
respect  for  which  ignominy  thirsts.  Everything  about 
him  was  more  positive  than  negative,  like  one  who,  ac- 
customed to  the  light,  looks  on  darkness  as  its  absence, 
and  endeavours  to  expel  it  by  letting  in  the  sun.  There 
was  no  beauty  in  his  face  to  make  him  desirable,  and  if 
aught  about  him  might  be  called  extraordinary,  it  was 


THE  COURT  7 

that  he  was  ordinary.  He  might  have  been  any  age, 
suggesting  one  who  had  grown  old  without  ceasing  to 
be  young,  yet  with  lines  in  his  face  and  a  depth  in  his 
eyes  telling  of  an  experience  preventive  of  all  surprise. 
He  had  evidently  himself  been  through  the  fire,  and  you 
could  be  certain,  before  he  spoke,  that  he  was  there  not 
to  condemn  but  to  cure. 

The  humility  of  this  kind  figure  was  apparent,  and  if 
any  had  called  him  good,  he  would  have  been  the  first 
to  say  that  the  attribute  belonged  to  no  one  except  God. 
If  credited  with  absolute  knowledge,  he  would  have  con- 
fessed ignorance  as  to  the  final  arrangements  of  the  Cre- 
ator, but,  if  in  this  respect  more  was  assigned  to  him 
than  he  claimed,  his  love,  at  least,  defied  embellishment. 
From  time  to  time  he  expressed  his  sympathy  by  a  smile, 
nor  was  satire  altogether  absent,  though  it  was  employed 
more  in  the  cause  of  saving  than  of  revenge.  He  was 
at  his  best  in  his  references  to  women  and  children,  and 
when  the  latter  were  mentioned  his  countenance  was 
irradiated  with  tenderness.  His  strongest  desire  was 
the  consolation  of  the  unhappy,  and  the  air  of  mercy 
surrounding  him  was  unspoiled  by  weakness.  When  he 
spoke  his  voice  was  in  itself  a  correction,  but  its  music 
brought  comfort  and  hope,  not  only  to  the  depressed  but 
to  the  disgraced. 

You  felt  that  he  had  drunk  of  the  cup,  though  whether 
on  his  own  account  or  that  of  others  none  could  guess. 
So  much  indeed  had  he  identified  himself  with  man  as 
his  brother  that  his  talk  was  rather  from  the  standpoint 
of  "we"  than  "I,"  nor  did  he  give  the  idea  of  shunning 


8  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

the  sinner,  though  his  abhorrence  of  the  sin  was  beyond 
question.  There  was  no  trace  of  preaching  in  his  methods, 
nor  did  he  once  proclaim  as  news  to  the  accused  that  it 
was  his  own  fault.  He  also  made  a  point  of  not  adding 
to  the  agony,  yet  he  achieved  with  infinite  delicacy  the 
task  of  revealing  each  to  himself.  In  his  presence  there 
came  an  unexplained  assurance  that  no  skein  but  might 
be  unravelled,  no  tangle  but  might  be  straightened  out, 
no  wrong  but  might  be  adjusted,  no  ruin  but  might  be 
restored,  no  vileness  but  might  be  purified,  and  no  an- 
guish but  might  be  banished  by  this  good  Samaritan 
who  was  strangely  considerate  to  those  who  had  fallen 
by  the  way. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  PLUTOCRAT 

THE  dethroned  puppet  felt  his  position  deeply, 
and  suffered  keenly  from  the  contrast  of  his 
surroundings  with  those  he  had  just  left.  He 
was  in  rude  health,  and  looked  about  him  insolently,  as 
one  accustomed  to  have  his  own  way  and  to  brook  no 
contradiction.  It  was  no  small  effort  for  him  to  accept 
the  place  of  an  equal,  let  alone  a  suppliant,  while  he  was 
pitiably  unconscious  of  the  fact  that,  in  the  sight  of  the 
Judge,  he  was  naked  as  when  he  was  born.  The  general 
impression  which  he  created  was  distasteful,  there  being 
a  forcefulness  and  an  air  of  dictatorship  about  him  telling 
of  habitual  command.  The  poverty  of  the  Plutocrat  was 
calculated  to  touch  the  stoniest  heart,  and  a  more  lam- 
entable instance  of  self-delusion  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  imagine.  Added  to  this  was  his  crass  igno- 
rance of  the  reversal  of  fortune  and  his  inane  conviction 
that  he  could  still  buy  up  the  universe,  including  the 
Judge,  whom  he  began  by  regarding  as  only  another 
pawn  in  the  game. 

That  he  was  to  be  cruelly  undeceived  none  could 
doubt,  but  it  was  tragic  to  watch  his  arrogance  and  the 
Napoleonic  air  with  which  he  surveyed  the  scene,  as 

9 


io  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

though  he  had  merely  to  press  a  button  to  summon  a 
host  of  willing  servitors.  He  failed  to  realise  that  he  no 
longer  possessed  a  sou,  and  that,  so  far  as  externals 
went,  he  was  a  pauper,  dependent  on  his  merits  and  on 
the  clemency  of  the  man  who  was  to  pronounce  his  sen- 
tence. To  the  Plutocrat,  who  had  never  been  kept 
waiting,  each  moment  appeared  a  century,  and  a  lifetime 
passed  before  him,  as  happens  to  those  suddenly  brought 
face  to  face  with  death.  When  the  horror  of  his  situa- 
tion stole  upon  him,  his  greatest  enemy  would  have  ad- 
mitted that  he  was  no  longer  a  subject  for  envy,  but  for 
commiseration.  The  Judge  was  quick  to  see  this  and, 
conquering  any  antipathy  he  may  have  felt,  greeted  his 
unwilling  visitor  with  quiet  courtesy  and  a  surprising 
absence  of  irritation.  Though  this  was  not  without  its 
effect,  the  accused  struggled  to  withstand  it  and  to  re- 
sume the  overbearing  attitude  of  his  entrance,  having 
trained  himself  to  resist  inconvenient  waves  of  emotion. 
He  was  soon,  as  he  would  have  mistakenly  called  it, 
"himself "  again,  and  assumed  a  confidence  beyond  be- 
lief to  those  possessed  of  an  iota  of  reverence.  It  was  a 
cause  for  thankfulness  that  there  were  no  preliminaries 
likely  to  increase  the  tension,  or  to  invite  friction  between 
two  opposite  forces  at  last  brought  face  to  face. 

The  Plutocrat  rose,  and,  fighting  to  the  end  against 
the  admissions  silently  extorted,  stated  his  case:  "Con- 
trary to  my  previous  experience,  I  have  come  here  to 
accuse  myself,  not  so  much  for  my  own  relief,  as  by  rea- 
son of  an  irresistible  drawing.  Hitherto  I  believed  no 
power  existed  which  could  break  me  down,  my  aim  hav- 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  n 

ing  been  to  break  others  down,  and  powder  them  into  dust 
if  they  crossed  my  path.  I  here  confess,  still  against  my 
will,  that  I  became  the  proudest  of  men,  and  that  I 
seldom  had  any  other  thought  than  self-aggrandisement. 
My  passion  was  power,  and  I  stopped  at  nothing  pro- 
vided I  could  reign  in  my  own  corner  of  the  world.  Con- 
scious as  I  was  of  few  mental  gifts,  save  those  of  cunning 
and  lack  of  conscience,  I  understood  that  for  me  money 
was  the  only  way  of  attaining  my  ambition;  therefore  for 
this  I  sold  my  soul  rather  than  miss  my  mark  or  take  a 
lower  place. 

"Many  a  time  I  alleged  that  it  was  not  the  gold  but 
the  gaining  of  it  that  interested  me,  and,  after  a  while,  I 
asserted  that  I  had  more  than  I  could  do  with.  But 
that  this  was  not  the  case  was  conclusively  proved  if  it 
came  to  a  matter  of  giving  anonymously,  when  I  found  it 
was  an  actual  pain.  I  grew  to  regard  the  people  as  non- 
existent except  for  my  own  ends,  and  became  insensible 
to  the  poverty,  hunger,  and  wretchedness  of  millions,  on 
condition  that  I  could  add  to  my  private  store.  As  for 
the  rights  of  man,  I  trod  them  under  foot,  and  gloried 
in  the  fact  that  my  digestion  was  not  affected  by  the  fate 
of  the  masses.  Avarice  gripped  me  more  tightly  than 
I  was  aware;  nevertheless  I  studiously  maintained  the 
appearance  of  a  good  heart,  and  became  a  proverb  for 
geniality,  lavishness,  and  a  suppressed  licentiousness 
which  was  treated  with  amazing  lenience  by  the  pro- 
fessedly religious.  To  be  candid,  I  squared  the  latter  by 
magnificent  subscriptions.  At  times,  jaded  by  finance, 
I  dabbled  in  religion,  finding  a  zest  in  the  contrast 


12  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

afforded  by  worship,  and  an  actual  solace  in  the  message 
of  the  Gospel,  without  the  least  intention  of  bringing  it  to 
bear  on  the  work  of  the  week.  The  emotions  of  a  poem 
not  over  rife  on  'Change  filled  me  with  vivid  satisfaction, 
but  I  was  conscious  that  my  presence  brought  a  stain 
upon  and  endangered  the  spirituality  of  the  churches 
which  I  supported. 

"The  Arts  came  in  for  my  patronage.  I  rivalled  Mae- 
cenas in  the  splendour  of  my  gifts  to  those  in  whom  I 
detected  a  genius  which  I  saw  could  be  put  to  good 
account.  I  founded  schools  of  learning  that  students 
might  revere  me,  but  I  also  fostered  knowledge  because 
it  spelt  strength,  and  because  I  desired  that  my  nation 
should  head  the  world.  I  scoured  all  countries  for 
treasures  through  which  my  name  should  be  glorified, 
and  should  be  mainly  known  as  that  of  one  who  had 
brought  the  chefs  d'ceuvre  of  mankind  within  the  reach  of 
the  people.  There  was  a  method  in  my  madness,  this 
exploiting  of  the  aesthetic  adding  to  my  credit,  and  dis- 
guising my  ultimate  design  of  adding  to  my  personal 
wealth. 

"I  was  careful  to  place  those  of  whom  I  had  taken  ad- 
vantage under  such  heavy  obligation  to  me  that  no 
voice  could  be  raised  except  in  my  favour.  It  amused  me 
that  I  could  create  dread  wherever  I  pleased,  and  that, 
when  peace  and  war  hung  in  the  balance,  statesmen 
should  resort  to  me  for  advice,  and  still  more  for  assis- 
tance. Socially  I  became  a  dominating  force,  though 
aware  that  bullion  formed  my  sole  attraction,  and,  me- 
diocre as  was  my  origin,  I  frequently  entertained  royalty, 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  13 

my  respect  for  whom,  I  confess,  was  hardly  enhanced  by 
their  affecting  my  company.  I  cannot  help  adding,  even 
here,  that  these  occasions  stand  out  among  the  supreme 
moments  of  my  life,  though  for  the  existence  of  such 
folly  amid  my  general  astuteness  I  can  give  no  logical 
explanation. 

"For  years  my  concentration  on  business  was  an 
asceticism,  but  there  came  a  time  when  desires  hitherto 
unknown,  or  starved  by  neglect,  awoke  with  a  force  which 
brought  me  shame.  Till  then,  however  much  I  had 
sinned  in  the  matter  of  money,  I  had  been  a  sincere 
champion  of  morals,  possibly  because  it  was  a  consider- 
able asset  towards  commercial  success.  To  escape 
from  this  novel  attack  of  carnality,  I  bought  and  bought 
and  bought,  but  was  increasingly  bored.  The  company 
which  I  now  cultivated,  and  the  world  to  which  I  had 
the  key,  demoralised  the  best  part  of  my  being,  and, 
having  long  considered  myself  safe  as  a  financier,  I  found 
myself  to  be  only,  and  very  much,  a  man.  I  am  still 
so  far  imbued  with  respect  for  my  early  training  and  for 
my  father's  memory  that,  with  your  indulgence,  I  forbear 
to  describe  the  depths  to  which  I  descended,  or  my  asso- 
ciation with  iniquities  for  the  abolition  of  which  I  pub- 
licly provided  large  sums,  but  not  so  large  as  to  attract 
notice. 

"In  the  earlier  stages  of  my  career  I  was  so  preoccu- 
pied with  business  that  my  affections  were  practically 
in  abeyance,  though  my  home  life  was  without  a  flaw, 
and  I  cannot  fix  the  moment  when  my  happiness  ceased 
to  consist  in  enriching  the  wife  who  had  been  the  angel 


i4  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

of  my  humbler  days.  Honestly  I  could  never  have  con- 
ceived myself  unfaithful  to  one  to  whom  I  owe  more 
than  I  care  to  admit,  but,  driven  in  middle  life  from  the 
paradise  of  purity,  I  underwent  a  torture  with  which  none 
would  credit  me,  and  which,  if  once  admitted,  would  have 
shattered  the  pedestal  on  which  I  stood  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world.  The  nervous  tension  of  this  Jekyll-and-Hyde 
existence  proved  too  strong  for  me,  and  I  became  a  prey 
to  a  fantasy  which  undermined  my  obligations  to  my 
family,  whom  I  treated  with  a  combination  of  Caesar 
and  Santa  Claus. 

"My  whole  career  was  built  upon  sand.  Times  with- 
out number,  had  I  not  been  phenomenally  rich,  I  should 
have  occupied  a  prison  cell,  but  I  continued  to  pose  as  a 
philanthropist,  and  left  a  name  honoured  by  the  race. 
My  egoism  reached  its  zenith  when,  in  my  will,  I  made 
it  a  condition  not  only  that  lands  should  be  called  after 
that  same  name,  but  that  my  beneficiaries  should  adopt  it, 
if  not  already  theirs,  to  the  damage  of  their  pride  and  to 
the  loss  of  their  identity.  I  went  so  far  as  to  insist  that 
they  should  change  their  religion  for  that  which  I  had 
professed,  and  sell  their  God  as  the  price  of  my  favours. 
I  made  munificent  bequests  to  charity,  the  number  of 
institutions  founded  to  perpetuate  my  memory  being 
prodigious.  Nor  did  I  show  any  compassion  for  my 
heirs,  conferring  on  them,  without  compunction,  a  curse 
which  was  bound  to  result  in  sloth  or  in  the  arrogance 
that  had  blemished  my  own  character.  This  is  the  burden 
of  guilt  laid  upon  me  to  confess  as  I  stand  before  the  Court, 
accept  its  decisions,  and  throw  myself  on  its  mercy." 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  15 

There  was  a  buoyancy  in  the  advocate's  mien  and  a 
light  in  his  eyes  which  augured  well  for  the  defence, 
and  made  it  clear  that  there  were  elements  of  genuine 
goodness  beneath  the  acknowledged  wickedness  of  the 
prisoner.  "I  rise,  my  Lord,"  he  said,  "to  point  out 
that  the  accused,  according  to  the  rule  of  this  Court,  has 
confined  himself  strictly  to  the  worst  side  of  his  case.  I 
am  thankful  that  my  task  is  to  present  certain  qualifica- 
tions which  are  none  the  less  based  on  truth.  From  his 
infancy  I  have  known  him,  and  can  recall  how,  as  a  child, 
he  was  full  of  piety  and  often  planned  a  life  of  service 
and  self-sacrifice  on  a  magnificent  scale.  The  career 
painted  by  him  in  such  dark  colours  was  by  no  means 
designed,  but  an  unfortunate  stroke  of  fortune  awakened 
a  latent  covetousness  of  which  I  have  seldom  failed  to 
find  the  counterpart,  save  in  the  elect.  It  may  even 
be  argued  that  without  this  trait  the  world  could  not 
continue,  and  that  to  it,  in  some  shape,  every  external 
advance  is  due.  Whatever  the  line  my  client  had 
adopted,  he  would  have  been  restless  until  he  had 
achieved  the  foremost  place,  and  though  this  catas- 
trophe of  success,  on  his  own  showing,  degraded  him, 
passages  of  undeniable  merit  occurred  in  his  attainment 
of  it. 

"He  worked  harder  than  most  men  of  his  day,  until 
he  became  a  byword  against  indolence.  In  his  own  way 
he  benefited  and  beautified  the  world,  inspiring  hundreds 
to  develop  their  talents,  and  thus  promoting  the  general 
welfare.  Constantly,  though  it  was  not  for  him  to  say 
so,  he  used  this  money,  however  ill  gotten,  for  drying 


1 6  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

tears,  and  tides  of  genuine  pity  swept  over  him,  resulting 
in  actions  of  which  none  has  ever  heard.  His  piety, 
hybrid  as  it  may  seem,  was  the  deepest  part  of  his  being, 
and  he  often  found  himself,  when  the  sycophants  had 
withdrawn,  communing  with  Heaven  under  the  stars, 
and  wondering  where  he  could  find  one  friend.  The 
knowledge  of  his  own  want  of  mentality  made  him  lavish 
his  fortune  in  dispelling  ignorance,  though  this  endeavour 
may  have  been  smirched  by  the  megalomania  and  inter- 
estedness  of  which  he  spoke. 

"To  no  woman  was  he  deliberately  unkind,  though  he 
loved  many,  condoning  it  on  the  specious  pretext  that  he 
had  a  greater  heart  than  most.  Only  your  Lordship 
can  guess  how  deeply  this  man  suffered,  and  I  have 
watched  him  sobbing  for  very  solitude  at  some  revelry, 
or  in  some  great  gathering  to  do  him  honour.  I  grant 
that  the  will  was  as  cowardly  and  tyrannical  as  can  be 
imagined,  nor  can  my  love  for  him  refute  the  charges  he 
has  preferred  against  himself  in  regard  to  humanity.  I 
make  no  reference  to  the  bequests,  knowing  that  it  is 
your  rule  to  count  them  for  nothing,  which  represents 
their  exact  cost  to  the  testator.  But,  seeing  how  satu- 
rated all  men  and  women  are  with  greed,  given  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  how  easy  it  is  to  justify  the  means  by  the  end, 
I  claim  not  merely  your  mercy,  but  an  adjustment  of  the 
scales  possible  only  to  yourself.  This  man  had  the 
money-making  instinct  to  an  unwonted  extent;  he  was 
not  constitutionally  cruel.  It  is  no  euphemism  to 
describe  his  special  talent  as  skill,  though  I  grant  that  it 
was  associated  with  cunning,  and  we  have  it  on  record 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  17 

that  the  greatest  enemy  of  mankind  was  victimised  by 
love  of  power,  though  originally  an  angel.  The  mutabil- 
ity of  the  accused  and  the  hell  through  which  he  has 
passed  are  well  known  to  me.  His  present  emptiness  is 
in  itself  an  agony  which  instinct  tells  me  your  Lordship 
will  take  into  account  when  you  pronounce  your  verdict 
on  one  whose  present  misery  goes  far  to  pay  the  price  of 
previous  wrong." 

Then  followed  certain  questions  put  by  the  Judge  to  the 
prisoner,  whom  he  addressed  with  the  deference  due  to  one 
who  would  have  regarded  its  absence  as  a  studied  insult. 

The  Plutocrat,  when  asked  whether  he  looked  on  the 
wealth  which  he  had  amassed  as  his  own,  or  whether  he 
had  been  actually  dishonest  throughout  his  life,  declared 
that,  had  he  not  taken  advantage  of  the  ignorance  of 
others,  and  had  he  not  adopted  certain  sharp  measures,  he 
could  not  have  laid  the  foundations  of  his  subsequent 
fortune.  Once  established,  possession  had  meant  for  him 
nine  points  of  the  law. 

On  the  point  of  his  humaneness,  the  Judge  questioned 
the  accused  as  to  how  it  was  compatible  with  the  meas- 
ures he  must  have  employed  to  acquire  his  means  of  ex- 
pressing it.  To  this  the  prisoner  replied  that,  in  what 
he  called  "business,"  he  had  made  it  a  practice  to  best 
his  neighbour  and,  if  he  interfered  with  his  projects,  not 
only  to  show  him  no  mercy,  but  to  raise  himself  on  the 
ruin  of  his  friend.  Having  no  use  for  failures,  he  had 
felt  no  pity  for  the  fool;  not  that  he  intended  to  fleece 
him,  but  that,  being  keener  on  the  game  than  the  goal, 
he  had  come  to  despise  those  whom  he  had  defeated  in 


i8  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

the  struggle.  Afterwards,  when  he  was  rich,  he  had  been 
moved  to  play  the  benefactor  on  the  principle  of  a  sop 
to  Cerberus,  and  to  soothe  his  pangs  of  conscience  by  the 
relief  of  those  he  had  impoverished. 

The  Judge  having  alluded  to  the  advocate's  statement 
as  to  his  religious  side,  the  Plutocrat  showed  signs  of 
regret,  and  declared  that  his  only  peaceful  hours  were 
those  spent  in  prayer.  After  such  retirement  he  had 
more  than  once  determined  to  ask  that  his  case  might 
be  dealt  with  by  the  Magistrate,  to  show  his  books  and 
to  start  fair  again  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  but  the 
price  was  too  great,  and  the  impulse  had  passed  away. 

Concerning  his  relations  with  women,  he  evinced  a 
softness  few  would  have  expected,  but  it  appeared  that, 
so  introspective  had  he  grown  in  his  search  for  gold,  it 
became  a  mania  to  discover  some  one  who  loved  him  for 
himself.  As  a  result,  he  had  developed  into  the  loneliest 
of  men,  driven  to  excesses  in  pursuit  of  some  new  sensa- 
tion or  some  consolation  to  render  bearable  the  desert 
in  which  he  had  condemned  himself  to  live.  He  ad- 
mitted having  possessed  the  most  loyal  and  devoted  of 
wives,  who  had  brought  him  the  only  unalloyed  joy  he 
had  ever  known,  before  his  brain  was  virtually  turned 
and  he  had  become  his  own  gaoler  in  his  quest  for  liberty. 
No  further  allusion  was  made  to  his  vicious  proclivities, 
as  being  a  personal  affair,  sporadic  and  foreign  to  the 
real  man.  They  were  also  held  to  serve  no  good  pur- 
pose by  the  President  of  the  Court,  whose  experience 
led  him  to  consider  the  very  memory  of  them  as  more 
than  sufficient  martyrdom  to  a  sensitive  nature. 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  19 

The  Judge,  then,  with  uncommon  gentleness,  asked 
him  if  he  had  been  happy,  to  which  the  prisoner  jauntily 
responded  that  at  any  rate  he  had  done  his  best  to  be  so, 
and,  on  the  whole,  he  could  not  complain,  but,  in  the 
end,  unable  to  endure  it  longer,  he  owned  to  his  wretched- 
ness. He  confessed  that  he  would  give  the  world  to 
know  the  joy  of  honest  labour  and  to  earn  his  pay  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow,  rather -than  continue  in  the 
splendour  and  falsity  which  he  loathed,  but  from  which 
he  supposed  he  could  never  break  free. 

The  Judge 's  summing  up  displayed  a  breadth  of  view, 
without  laxity,  rarely  met  with.  He  restrained  an  im- 
pulse to  dilate  on  the  contrast  between  riches  and  pov- 
erty, as  though  no  end  could  be  gained  on  that  score 
by  further  aggravation.  So  courteous  was  he  that  he 
placed  himself  in  the  position  of  the  prisoner,  nor  would 
any  have  inferred  that  he  had  known  what  it  was  to  have 
no  shelter  and  to  ask  for  alms. 

"I  wish  to  thank  you,"  he  began,  "for  your  confi- 
dence, though  it  has  been  extracted  from  you.  You 
clearly  show  that  this  wealth  of  yours  has  by  no  means 
brought  you  what  you  expected.  If  it  was  built  on 
even  a  questionable  foundation,  the  entire  fabric  falls 
to  the  ground,  with  the  result  that  none  of  it  truly  be- 
longed to  you  except  your  early  earnings.  You  have 
already  been  punished  by  the  consequent  satiety,  and 
you  now  realise  the  stupidity  of  your  striving.  Though 
the  public  think  you  have  got  off  lightly,  you  know  this 
to  be  untrue,  for  you  have  had  to  undergo  a  private 
torment  unguessed  at  by  the  stranger.  I  can  corrobo- 


20  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

rate  the  evidence  of  your  counsel,  having  taken  note  of 
every  sigh,  every  prayer,  and  every  act  of  kindness  which 
you  have  often  denied.  Again  and  again  have  come  to 
me  those  who  look  to  you  as  the  saviour  of  their  lives, 
and  I  agree  that,  in  a  large  measure,  you  have  benefited 
humanity,  furnished  an  incentive  to  action,  and  played 
your  part  in  the  evolution  of  mankind. 

"I  have  gauged  your  isolation  at  home,  where  you 
acted  the  tyrant,  to  the  concealing  of  your  true  self. 
I  have  heard  the  wail  of  your  loneliness  while  you  re- 
pelled those  who  would  have  comforted  you,  because 
suspiciousness  made  you  like  a  sparrow  on  the  housetop. 
I  have  marked,  too,  the  anger  of  the  crowd,  many  of 
whom  had  hardly  bread  enough  to  go  round,  while  you 
flaunted  in  their  faces  a  luxury  and  display  which  proved 
you  thoughtless  beyond  words.  This  was  not  remedied 
by  your  attitudinising  as  a  patriot  and  promoter  of 
civilisation.  Little  did  you  dream  of  the  epidemic  of 
covetousness  and  avoidance  of  work  in  favour  of  quick 
returns  created  by  the  publication  of  your  balance- 
sheets.  At  your  door  may  be  laid  the  suicide  of  many 
who,  without  your  gifts,  embarked  on  the  same  course,  but, 
failing,  found  despair.  It  adds  to  your  guilt  that,  though 
you  piled  up  these  millions,  you  were  still  able  to  say 
your  Pater  Noster  and  to  assume  a  discipleship  involving, 
if  not  poverty,  at  least  moderation.  You  will  see,  with- 
out further  emphasis,  that,  if  such  anomalies  occurred  in 
the  natural  world,  starving  dogs  would  soon  make  an 
end  of  one  who  heaped  his  kennel  with  bones  and  called 
them  sacrosanct,  under  the  name  of  property,  because 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  21 

the  rest  might  have  done  the  same  had  it  been  in  their 
power. 

"The  most  harmful  aspect  of  your  life,  though,  is 
your  public  mention  of  a  Name  which  you  should  have 
kept  to  yourself,  whereby  you  have  done  much  to  seduce 
a  nation  and  to  promote  prattle  on  the  subject  of  probity. 
How  many  curse  you  in  secret,  whether  they  have  the 
right  to  do  so  or  not,  you  will  never  know,  and,  though 
you  were  acquainted  with  the  adage  of  the  camel  and  the 
needle's  eye,  you  did  obeisance  to  the  golden  image  and 
fell  down  before  it  as  your  god.  Forgive  my  righteous 
indignation,  but  the  whip  is  more  than  warranted  when 
Croesus  enters  the  temple  and  claims  companionship 
with  the  Nazarene. 

"You  must  learn  that  you  were  never  so  important 
as  others  led  you  to  believe,  and  that  the  world  would 
have  gone  on  as  well  if  you  had  not  been  born.  Your 
excuse  as  to  the  circulation  of  money  is  another  instance 
of  your  self-deception,  your  root  mistake  having  been 
that  you,  and  you  alone,  were  the  alpha  and  omega  of 
existence.  You  falsely  estimated  what  you  could  see 
compared  with  the  invisible,  while  you  basely  misused 
gifts  which  might  have  been  a  channel  for  untold  good. 
You  would  probably  be  the  first  to  acknowledge  that,  in 
your  case,  success  has  resulted  in  failure,  and  though  I 
well  understand  your  advocate's  plea  in  view  of  your 
evident  pain,  I  should  not  love  you  unless  I  decreed  that 
you  must  continue  to  suffer  until  your  entire  outlook  is 
changed.  As  to  the  lapse  into  a  libertinage  which 
caused  you  surprise,  it  is  but  natural  that,  having  ac- 


22  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

quired  all  the  kingdoms  through  falling  down  and  wor- 
shipping, you  should  have  then  become  its  easy  victim. 
Small  wonder  that  a  man  should  seek  romance  in  flinging 
himself  from  giddy  heights,  being  sated  with  wealth 
which,  to  his  still  greater  hurt,  provides  a  mattress  for 
the  stones. 

"Reparation  to  those  you  have  injured  is  out  of  your 
power,  which  must  add  to  your  anguish,  but  the  law  of 
truth  demands  that  you  work  out  your  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling  on  the  reverse  of  the  lines  which  have 
proved  so  disastrous.  You  will,  therefore,  leave  this 
Court  condemned  to  a  life  of  that  labour  which  you 
profess  to  desire,  yet  at  the  same  time  yearning  to  effect 
the  material  good  which  will  now  be  out  of  your  reach. 
You  shall  taste  the  pinch  of  poverty  and,  when  your 
health  is  gone,  you,  too,  shall  be  forced  to  receive  gifts 
which  will  hurt  your  pride  beyond  endurance.  You 
shall  also  know  the  pain  of  seeing  those  you  love  sick, 
without  being  able  to  give  them  comforts,  and,  tor- 
tured by  their  stress,  you  shall  be  tempted  to  steal. 
You,  in  your  turn,  shall  watch  from  outside  the  luxury 
and  waste  of  those  who  make  thousands  cornering  mar- 
kets, gambling  in  shares,  and  achieving  fortunes  in  an 
hour. 

"You  will  then  realise  that  the  world  was  not  made 
for  a  few  individuals,  but  for  all,  who  are  equally  dear  in 
the  sight  of  their  Father,  and  for  whom  He  will  never 
keep  silence  until  they  are  treated  with  similar  respect. 
You  may  be  inclined  to  become  an  extremist  in  the  oppo- 
site direction,  but  you  will  find  relief  in  diligence.  You 


THE  PLUTOCRAT  23 

will  go  the  length  of  championing  the  cause  of  the  crowd, 
explaining  that  the  removal  of  these  offences  and  the 
restoration  of  justice  lies  in  their  own  power,  if  they 
acquire  the  art  of  self-government  and  of  co-operation 
for  the  common  good.  By  this  means  you  shall  dis- 
cover your  real  standing,  and,  when  the  true  brotherhood 
has  been  revealed  to  you,  you  shall  know  by  heart,  and 
not  by  rote,  the  "Our  Father"  which  your  mother 
taught  you  long  ago. 

"You  shall  then  be  able  to  use  this  gift  of  yours,  which 
amounts  to  genius,  and  which  will  remain  to  you,  for 
the  highest  ends,  but  you  shall  express  your  generosity 
through  the  medium  of  the  State  without  the  harm  of  a 
single  dole.  To  a  man  like  yourself  this  restriction, 
though  a  bitter  medicine,  is  necessary,  owing  to  your 
innate  vulgarity,  lest  personal  giving  of  any  kind  should 
once  more  prove  a  deadly  danger  both  to  the  donor  and 
the  recipient.  As  to  'being  loved  for  yourself,'  which 
was  your  radical  quest,  the  crown  of  a  great  devotion 
shall  be  bestowed  upon  you  by  your  country,  since  it 
shall  have  been  earned  by  your  love  and  your  own  right 
arm.  Above  all,  you  shall  be  able  to  indulge  in  religion 
without  hypocrisy  when  your  craving  to  be  cared  for 
shall  have  ceased  to  be,  and  you  shall  find  your  heaven, 
not  so  much  in  showering  gold  to  the  applause  of  mul- 
titudes, as  in  heart  service.  In  this  task  your  wife 
shall  join  you,  and  you  shall  be  happy." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  DERELICT 

HE  WAS  at  home  directly,  and  lolled  on  the  chair 
as  if  nothing  mattered  provided  he  had  some 
sort  of  seat  on  which  to  laze.  The  only  thing 
he  missed  was  his  baccy,  but  such  a  habit  had  chewing 
become,  that  his  mouth  moved  like  that  of  a  cow,  and 
he  took  about  as  much  notice  of  what  was  going  on  round 
him.  His  face  showed  little  or  no  pain,  and  he  was  not 
worrying  so  long  as  he  had  found  shelter,  though  he 
vaguely  wondered  what  kind  of  move  this  meant.  His 
life,  which  had  been  one  continuous  waiting  on  events, 
caused  him  to  take  the  next  thing  as  it  turned  up,  his 
rule  being  to  turn  up  nothing  on  his  own  account.  A 
lengthened  residence  in  the  open  air  had  bronzed  his 
unmanly  countenance,  and  he  was  for  all  the  world 
like  an  animal,  without  the  passion  suggested  by  the 
word.  A  better  description  of  him  was,  a  thing  in  hu- 
mans, which  made  it  exciting  to  watch  whether  the 
Judge  would  be  able  to  bring  what  was  out  of  what  was 
not. 

The  Derelict,  having  condescended  to  take  in  his 
surroundings,  remained  equally  unmoved,  as  the  aspect 
of  the  Judge  deceived  him  into  thinking  that  he  had 

24 


THE  DERELICT  25 

met  another  "softy"  who  would  get  him  out  of  the 
fix.  On  his  hands  were  few,  if  any,  blisters,  though  his 
thumb  and  forefinger  bore  marks  of  which  he  had  taken 
no  trouble  to  rid  himself.  His  eyes  were  by  no  means 
those  of  a  drunkard,  but  they  peered  about  as  though 
hoping  to  find  something  on  the  floor  which  had  been 
left  by  the  last  occupant.  The  most  alarming  thing 
about  the  prisoner  was  that  he  did  not  mind  being  one, 
and  that  between  him  and  the  ordinary  embodiments  of 
justice  had  long  been  established  an  unhealthy  intimacy. 
This  was  the  man  whom  the  Judge  had  not  only  to 
break  down  (which  was  an  everyday  affair  with  the 
Derelict),  but  to  build  up,  his  task  being  to  construct 
out  of  this  mass  of  nothingness  a  living  soul. 

Meanwhile  hardly  more  could  be  said  of  the  prisoner 
than  that  he  still  missed  his  baccy,  and  was  only  too 
content  to  allow  the  Judge  to  proceed  at  his  leisure,  as 
at  all  events  it  passed  the  time.  When  he  half  stood  up 
to  make  his  confession,  he  was  in  a  poor  plight,  having 
been  a  stranger  for  years  to  the  notion  of  (as  he  would 
have  put  it)  "splitting  on  himself."  The  interest  of  the 
case  became  manifest  as  he  rambled  on,  till,  before  the 
end,  a  gleam  of  light  revealed  itself  in  the  murky  dark- 
ness. 

"Why  I  am  here,"  he  said,  "blow  me  if  I  can  make  out, 
and  it  is  the  rummiest  go  I  have  as  yet  struck.  Up  till 
now  my  job  has  been  to  make  out  I  was  right,  but  now 
it  seems  to  be  to  tell  you  all  about  it,  which  the  beak 
has  generally  told  me.  The  idea  of  not  making  excuses 
seems  a  bit  queer,  so  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  don't 


26  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

take  to  it  easily.  I  doubt  if  I  have  ever  said  I  was 
sorry,  or,  if  so,  I  have  forgotten  it.  The  fact  is,  I  have 
always  cared  for  my  victuals  more  than  for  most  else, 
and  when  I  was  a  lad  I  often  shirked  school,  but  I  found 
myself  at  home  for  meals.  I  never  could  abide  book 
learning,  but  I  was  as  cute  as  they  are  made,  and  if  the 
master  didn't  know  how  I  passed  the  Seventh  Standard, 
I  did,  and  I  got  the  Scripture  Prize,  and  chance  it.  My 
mother  used  to  say  it  was  the  company  I  kept  which 
brought  me  where  I  got  to,  but  that's  a  bit  off,  and  if  I 
was  always  with  a  gang  of  idle  boys,  it  was  because  I 
liked  it  and  was  born  to  be  their  leader. 

"I  didn't  keep  any  of  my  jobs,  and  never  learned  a 
trade,  but  picked  up  what  I  could,  and  didn't  care  much 
how.  Now  and  again  I  was  mighty  busy  at  what  passed 
for  work,  if  it  was  in  the  open  and  meant  no  study.  I 
got  to  love  the  excitement  of  uncertainty,  and  put  in 
some  fine  times,  at  least  they  seemed  so  to  me.  As  I 
grew  older  I  used  to  travel  a  bit  to  see  the  country,  living 
on  what  I  could  get  as  I  went  along,  and  when  I  came 
back  I  made  my  pals  jealous  by  the  yarns  I  pitched  to 
them  of  a  larger  world.  When  they  asked  me  if  I  had 
found  work,  I  scorned  the  notion,  and  let  them  think  it 
was  beneath  me  to  soil  my  hands.  I  knew  how  to  talk 
about  it,  though,  and  how  to  swell  the  crowds  round  a 
mob  orator  on  the  rights  of  the  poor.  I  went  on  with 
this  sort  of  game  till  I  began  to  think  my  grievances 
were  real,  and  by  degrees  I  got  the  patter  by  heart. 

"I  spent  several  terms  in  prison,  which,  anyhow,  I 
preferred  to  the  workhouse,  where  I  couldn't  abide  the 


THE  DERELICT  27 

company,  for  you  did  get  your  meals  regular  in  quod, 
you  knew  what  you  had  to  do,  and,  when  you  got  settled 
down,  it  was  kind  of  homelike.  When  I  was  there  I 
became  a  bit  of  a  hypocrite,  and  more  than  once  spoofed 
the  chaplain,  which  I  begin  to  feel  was  a  lower-down  act 
than  all  the  thieving  outside.  I  was  never  found  for 
violence,  for  I  hadn't  the  pluck,  but  I  just  wanted  to 
get  along  as  best  I  could,  granted  I  didn't  have  to 
make  no  effort.  It's  a  bit  difficult  to  say  what  it  all 
comes  to  when  you  tot  it  up,  but  I  had  some  good  old 
times  lying  about  in  the  parks,  watching  the  kids,  and 
reading  the  papers,  of  which  I  was  terrible  fond. 

"If  you  ask  me  what  happened  to  the  others,  it's 
ever  so  long  since  I  heard  of  them,  but  I  wasn't  good  at 
writing  letters,  except  begging  ones,  which  I  was  put 
up  to  doing  at  the  doss-house  and  which  turned  out  no 
end  of  a  soft  thing.  I  expect  I  felt  pricks  of  remorse, 
but  I  knew  they  meant  work,  and  as  I  wasn't  having 
any,  I  choked  them,  though  I  liked  hymns,  and  it  was  a 
treat  to  have  a  good  cry.  I  have  often  sobbed  over 
that  chap  who  left  his  father  and  went  it  till  the  victuals 
ran  out,  and  he  had  to  feed  on  the  husks  they  gave  the 
pigs,  but  I  do  think  it  was  a  shame  that  no  man  gave 
him  nothing  when  he  was  hungry,  and  what  I  said  was, 
'Poor  fellow,  not  to  be  able  to  get  a  square  meal  after 
he  had  stood  treat.'  And  I  like  the  way  the  old  governor 
fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  and  soon  made  it  all 
right,  but  I  was  fair  upset  when  he  asked  to  be  made 
like  one  of  the  servants,  and  I  knew  I  should  never  have 
stopped,  if  it  had  meant  turning  to  on  the  land  after 


28  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

the  bean-feast.  So  I  used  to  try  and  forget  it,  though 
I  collapsed  regular  when  I  heard  it  again.  But  I  didn't 
alter,  not  a  little  bit,  and  if  you  was  to  ask  me  straight, 
I  still  think  it  pretty  hard  on  a  chap  to  be  put  into  this 
world  to  earn  his  bread.  There's  no  good  saying  I 
am  happy,  for  I'm  not,  and  it's  no  good  your  giving 
me  time,  for  I've  had  all  that.  What  I  want  is  a  new 
sort  of  lay  altogether,  but  even  that's  no  good  unless  I 
start  right  over  again,  and  if  you  can  make  a  man  of  me, 
I'll  thank  you,  but  I  ain't  going  to  make  no  promises." 

The  advocate  was  more  sad  than  angry,  feeling  that 
there  were  few  arguments  in  favour  of  the  prisoner,  yet 
assured  that  the  hopelessness  of  the  story  would  appeal 
to  the  Judge.  He  knew  the  Derelict  well,  and  though  the 
latter  had  never  acted  on  his  advice,  he  had  often  asked 
him  to  tramp  alongside  him  on  the  road.  He  had  had 
long  talks  with  him  in  his  cell,  and,  however  abortive 
the  results,  he  had  always  visited  him  again  when  sent 
for,  and  each  time  thought  that  he  was  going  to  turn. 
Somehow  he  had  grown  attached  to  this  failure,  who  had 
caused  him  sorrow  rather  than  disgust  at  his  absence  of 
heart.  When  he  rose  to  defend  the  Derelict  his  language 
was  ultra  human,  though,  conscious  of  the  danger  of 
being  maudlin,  he  did  his  best  to  adopt  the  sterner  side, 
and  to  remind  himself  of  the  law  of  sequence. 

"I  rise,  my  Lord,"  he  said,  "to  plead  for  the  prisoner, 
and  the  word  exactly  expresses  my  feeling.  Defence 
I  have  none,  but  his  very  abjectness  is  a  challenge  to 
your  charity.  His  far-off  country  yielded  him  no  joy, 
nor  can  he  be  said  to  have  indulged  in  riotous  living, 


THE  DERELICT  29 

since  he  had  neither  money  to  pay  for  it  nor  spirit  to 
revel  in  it.  The  time  he  put  in  was  as  dull  and  weird 
as  can  be  told.  I  maintain  that  he  was  not  what  is 
called  wicked  so  much  as  slothful,  though  both  adjectives 
were  used  in  the  case  of  one  who  hid  his  talent  in  a 
napkin.  He  hardly,  if  ever,  had  the  remotest  suspicion 
of  harming  any  one,  for  with  a  disposition  like  his  there 
was  no  one  whom  he  could  injure.  As  for  doing  harm 
to  himself,  he  knew  none  but  bodily  discomfort.  In 
regard  to  sloth,  he  was  virtually  born  diseased,  and, 
though  he  made  it  worse  by  not  correcting  it,  the  germs 
of  it  were  in  him  to  a  degree  which  should  disarm  those 
who  would  too  hastily  condemn. 

"No  one  can  tell,  save  one  who  has  been  much  in  his 
company,  how  he  grew  to  loathe  work,  and  to  regard  with 
contempt  and  shrinking  the  first  axiom  of  his  salvation. 
Though  it  may  not  influence  his  sentence,  I  would  re- 
mark that  the  genus  loafer  covers  a  wider  area  than 
men  pause  to  consider.  Many  there  are,  my  Lord,  who 
never  do  an  honest  day's  work,  and  who  find  it  possible 
to  live  upon  a  woman,  though  the  judgment  of  them  is 
lenient  provided  the  sum  is  large  enough,  and  she  wears 
a  ring.  Far  cleverer,  far  wickeder,  and  far  more  guilty 
than  the  Derelict,  they  manage  to  pass  a  much  pleasanter 
existence,  without  being  accused  of  having  visited  a 
country  farther  off  than  that  touched  by  the  prisoner. 
I  am  aware  that  a  thousand  blacks  do  not  make  a  white, 
and  that  my  brief  has  to  do  with  the  case  in  hand,  but 
I  contend  that  sloth  on  a  magnificent  scale  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  same  vice  on  the  lowest  plane. 


3o  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

This  man  knew  much  of  the  emotional  side  of  religion, 
and  though  it  was  beyond  him  to  grasp  its  connection 
with  ethics,  he  would  never  have  found  even  a  passing 
consolation  in  the  account  of  the  prodigal  unless  he  had 
had  within  himself  the  elements  of  the  wandering  boy. 

"I  have  often  marvelled  at  his  preference  of  the  vilest 
weather  outside  to  the  work  of  the  casual  ward,  but  I 
have  seen  him  more  than  once  give  up  his  seat  to  another 
wreck,  and  share  with  a  dog  as  hungry  as  himself  food 
bestowed  on  him  by  some  kind  soul.  Once,  on  the  stroke 
of  midnight,  when  he  had  actually  earned  sixpence  by 
holding  a  cab-horse,  I  watched  him  hand  it  over  to  a 
poor  chap  who  would  otherwise  also  have  been  out;  I 
then  knew  for  a  certainty  that  my  Derelict  was  not 
altogether  bad.  As  I  look  at  your  Lordship,  my  hopes 
rise,  not  that  I  expect  any  petting,  but  because  I  rely 
on  your  love  of  restoring.  So  I  leave  him  in  the  hands 
of  the  only  person  I  know  who,  when  he  loves,  loves  to 
the  end." 

The  Judge  treated  the  Derelict  as  a  brother. 

"Tell  me  about  your  home,"  he  said. 

"You  couldn't  have  called  it  one." 

"What  did  your  father  do?" 

"We  never  could  quite  make  out,  but  he  came  home  of 
a  night." 

"And  your  mother?" 

"  She  was  a  hard-working  woman,  at  least  she  was 
always  washing  up,  and  when  I  think  of  it,  she  most 
usual  was  standing  outside  with  her  sleeves  tucked  up, 
talking  to  the  woman  next  door." 


THE  DERELICT  31 

"Where  was  she  when  not  taking  the  air?  " 

"At  the 'Spotted  Dog.'" 

"Was  the  home  clean?" 

"Well,  there  wasn't  enough  in  it  to  make  it  hard  to 
keep  tidy,  for  most  of  it  was  put  away.  My  mother 
never  went  herself,  but  there  was  a  woman  at  the  top 
of  the  street  who  used  to  do  that  for  the  rest,  at  any 
rate  when  they  was  young." 

"Were  your  father  and  mother  good  friends?" 

"They  usedn't  to  see  too  much  of  each  other,  but  they 
didn't  fall  out  any  more  than  the  others." 

"How  did  you  spend  your  evenings?" 

"In  the  streets." 

"Where  did  you  spend  your  Sundays?  " 

"In  the  streets." 

"What  was  your  idea  of  Heaven?  " 

"The  streets  all  paved  with  gold." 

"As  you  grew  older,  did  you  pretend  to  work?" 

"Yes,  I  pretended  all  right." 

"Did  you  wear  the  clothes  of  a  working-man?" 

"Yes,  I  got  up  proper  in  corduroys." 

"Had  you  any  friends  among  the  working-men?" 

"No,  I  never  took  to  them  much,  nor  they  to  me." 

"How  soon  did  you  become  dishonest?" 

"As  long  as  I  can  remember." 

"Were  you  angry  with  the  rich?  " 

"Can't  say  I  was  so  long  as  I  could  get  anything  out 
of  them." 

"Were  you  touched  by  the  sadness  and  misery  you 
often  saw?  " 


32  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Yes,  I  was  that,  but  we  were  all  in  the  same  boat, 
and  it  didn't  seem  no  good  making  a  fuss." 

"Did  you  envy  men  as  you  saw  them  returning  home, 
happy  after  an  honest  day's  toil?  " 

"Can't  say  as  I  did,  though  I  knew  they  had  the 
best  of  it." 

"Did  no  one  ever  give  you  a  chance?" 

"  Scores  of  times,  but  the  best  of  them  would  not  give 
me  money,  and  I  got  tired  of  sermons." 

"Did  it  strike  you,  as  you  sprawled  in  the  parks, 
or  lay  on  the  benches,  that  you  were  a  public  nuisance, 
and  that  you  were  degrading  not  only  yourself  but  your 
country?" 

"I  have  often  heard  that  style  of  thing,  but  tall- 
talk  always  turned  me  fair  sick." 

"Did  you  sometimes  suffer  because  the  children 
whose  games  you  watched  might  turn  out  like  yourself?  " 

"My  God!  I  did,  and  I  had  a  catch  in  my  throat  when 
I  saw  signs  of  it  in  some  of  them  which  made  me  feel 
that  their  number  was  up." 

"Did  you  not  know  in  your  heart  that,  unless  you 
turned  to  and  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow  earned  one 
day's  pay,  you  were  hopelessly  lost?" 

"Yes,  I  did  know  it,  but  I  could  not  have  done  it 
for  a  pension." 

"Couldn't  or  wouldn't?" 

"Well,  then,  wouldn't,  if  you  will  have  it,  but  such 
as  you  cannot  understand  such  as  me." 

"That  isn't  true.  Tell  me  how  you  felt  as  you  grew 
older,  and  as  begging  became  your  second  nature." 


THE  DERELICT  33 

"I  got  not  to  feel  at  all." 

"What  would  you  have  called  your  happiest  times?" 

"Now  you  fair  puzzle  me,  but  it  wasn't  bad  when  I 
had  done  some  cove  a  good  turn,  though  it  didn't  run 
to  what  you  might  call  happiness.  You  see  if  I  did  give 
anything,  I'd  most  pinched  it  already,  which  makes  all 
the  odds." 

"Would  you  say  that  you  had  been  embittered  by 
your  life?" 

"Not  a  bit  of  it.  They  were  all  very  good  to  me, 
they  were,  and  I  got  fond  even  of  them  warder  chaps, 
who  seemed  to  sort  of  know  my  weakness  and  let  me 
down  proper." 

"How  would  you  describe  the  world  from  your  point 
of  view?" 

"It  was  a  deal  too  kind  to  me,  your  Worship,  or  I 
might  have  been  a  better  man.  But  it  seems  to  me 
that  we  sort  of  chaps  act  as  a  kind  of  vent  for  the  feel- 
ings, so  in  a  roundabout  way  it  would  be  a  poorer 
place  without  us." 

"Should  you  like  to  go  back  to  it?" 

"What  do  you  take  me  for?" 

"If  you  did,  would  you  do  much  the  same?" 

"What  I  says  is,  I  want  a  fresh  start,  and  if  you 
could  emigrate  me  to  a  different  sort  of  place,  that's 
what  I  want.  But  you've  got  to  change  me  first,  your 
Worship,  and  if  I  got  to  Heaven  itself  sudden,  I  shouldn't 
fly,  I  should  just  lie  down  and  snooze,  while  the  others 
took  the  message." 

"Have  you  ever  loved  any  one?" 


34  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Can't  say  as  I  have,  if  you  mean  that  kind  of  feeling 
which  comes  over  a  fellow  and  makes  him  look  as  if 
he'd  seen  a  light,  and  as  if  he  could  never  disgrace  him- 
self again." 

"Yes,  I  mean  just  that  feeling." 

"Well,  it's  never  come  my  way;  that's  all  I  can  say." 

The  heart  of  the  Judge  ached  for  the  Derelict,  and  he 
resembled  one  who  wept  over  a  city  because  its  inhabi- 
tants had  refused  to  know  the  things  belonging  to  their 
peace.  He  felt  keenly  the  need  of  reconstruction.  He 
knew  that  lecturing  would  be  lost  on  the  prisoner,  who 
had  long  used  it  up,  and  perceived  that  he  was  already 
too  religious.  The  poor  fellow  needed  to  realise  that 
there  were  several  other  people  besides  himself,  and, 
until  some  tiny  seed  of  love  was  planted  in  his  heart,  all 
other  methods,  if  not  useless,  were  premature.  The 
Judge  was  encouraged  by  the  fact  that  there  was  less 
blarney  in  his  answers  than  he  had  looked  for,  and  as  he 
knelt  down  to  blow  the  smoking  flax  into  a  flame,  he  was 
grateful  to  think  that  it  was  not  wholly  quenched. 

"Your  sentence,"  he  said,  "  is  bound  to  be  a  long  one, 
though  you  may  rest  assured  that  it  shall  not  become  the 
routine  which  defeated  the  ends  of  your  other  punish- 
ments. Before  you  can  learn  how  to  work  you  must 
learn  how  to  love,  and  for  this  reason  you  shall  find 
yourself  in  scenes  of  suffering  where  you,  and  only  you, 
can  bring  aid.  In  the  early  stages  you  may  refuse,  and 
you  may  turn  your  back  on  the  task  involved,  by  reason 
of  ingrained  habit.  But  the  pity  which,  from  time  to 
time,  peeped  out  of  you  shall  gradually  become  your 


THE  DERELICT  35 

master.  Among  the  sufferers  shall  be  children,  and, 
when  you  carry  them  in  your  arms  because  they  cannot 
walk,  into  your  face  shall  come  a  new  expression.  As 
you  gaze  on  these  results  of  sloth  in  their  parents,  and 
as  you  serve  them  without  pay,  your  eyes  shall  lose 
their  furtive  look  and  shall  grow  larger  as  the  best 
tears  you  have  ever  shed  flow  down  your  cheeks.  You 
shall  become  the  servant  of  the  aged  and  the  outworn, 
who  are  deserted  of  all,  and  you  shall  fetch  and  carry 
for  the  imbeciles,  till  you  find  yourself  singing  the  old 
hymns,  but  in  a  different  key.  Burnt  into  your  being 
shall  be  the  truth  that  you  are  part  of  a  whole,  and,  when 
your  heart  is  broken  by  it,  you  shall  acquire  sorrow  for 
the  waste  of  your  manhood. 

"Then  will  come  a  revelation  which  you  could  never 
have  guessed.  You  will  witness  your  former  self  as  a 
curse  to  your  country.  You  will  be  repelled  by  the 
thought  of  the  blight  which  you  became,  and  you  will  pray 
with  your  whole  soul  that  you  may  repair  the  panic  which 
you  caused  among  those  who  watched  you  and  were 
themselves  on  the  verge  of  throwing  up  their  hands. 
You  will  hate  such  cowardice,  and  the  angels  you  see  in 
your  dreams  will  take  on  the  form  of  the  working-men 
who  whistled  as  they  walked,  and  whom  you  pretended 
to  despise.  You  will  at  last  see  not  only  that  men  who 
do  not  work  are  worse  than  the  brute  creation,  but  that 
in  work  lies  man's  supreme  chance  of  renovation.  Your 
incentive  shall  be  to  help  the  children  and  the  old, 
amongst  whom  you  slaved,  at  first  with  pain,  but,  later, 
because  it  became  your  prize.  You  shall  go  back  to  the 


36  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

beginning  and  you  shall  have  a  new  pride  which  makes 
it  a  crime  to  beg.  You  shall  gain  a  distaste  for  deceit 
of  any  kind,  and  you  will  refuse  to  impress  religion  into 
the  service  of  mendicancy. 

"Whatever  your  resolve,  the  term  is  bound  to  be  pro- 
longed, and  though  my  tenderness  towards  you  is  not 
wanting,  you  need  a  stick  more  than  a  caress.  Be  cou- 
rageous. Think  of  the  children.  Go  back  to  the  streets 
which  are  still  full  of  them.  The  time  will  come  when, 
through  a  discipline  which  will  never  let  you  go  from 
under  its  hand  until  its  purpose  is  accomplished,  you 
shall  respect  yourself.  Some  day,  when  there  is  an 
extra  difficult  job  to  be  done,  which  no  one  will  under- 
take because  it  is  too  dull,  too  uphill,  too  tedious,  and 
because  the  only  man  who  will  do  it  is  the  man  who  cares 
enough  to  consider  hardship  a  trifle,  a  voice  shall  be 
heard  to  say:  'Here  am  I,  send  me.'  It  shall  come  from 
one  who  was  once  a  Derelict." 


CHAPTER  IV 

LA  GRANDE  DAME 

THE  lady  found  it  difficult  to  adjust  herself  to  the 
plainness  of  her  environment,  but  was  careful 
to  preserve  the  proper  languor  and  remoteness. 
She  was  disturbed  to  find  that  there  was  no  gallery,  and 
her  evident  trouble  at  the  thought  of  the  comedy  which 
she  had  so  long  taken  seriously  was  touching.  Her  whole 
air  was  superficial,  and  she  was  ignorant  of  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  simplicity.  Hardly  a  sadder  situation  could  be 
conceived,  caste  and  class  having  ceased  to  count,  and 
the  falsities  of  society  being  finished  with.  As  she  strove 
with  excellent  taste  to  accommodate  herself  to  the  change, 
her  courage  recalled  scenes  gracefully  enacted  under  the 
Terror.  The  directness  of  the  affair,  the  absence  of  the 
ornamental,  and  the  fact  that  no  chance  was  afforded 
of  producing  any  effect  hurt  her  severely.  The  con- 
trast of  the  Court  with  that  to  which  she  had  been  habitu- 
ated was  painfully  oppressive,  so  that,  when  she  looked 
round  in  vain  for  the  spurious  supports  conceded  to 
prestige,  chivalry  was  aroused  for  one  suddenly  stripped 
of  the  adventitious. 

She  was  on  the  verge  of  tears,  but  her  dignity  came 
to  her  rescue,  helping  her  to  retain  an  unnatural  calm. 

37 


38  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

Her  de  haul  en  has  expression  would  have  been  grotesque 
if  it  had  not  been  pathetic,  or  if  it  had  not  been  patent 
that  the  ground  was  rapidly  being  taken  from  under 
her  feet.  To  the  bulk  of  sane  men  and  women  the  pre- 
sentment of  this  superior  being  would  have  bordered 
on  the  ludicrous,  the  more  so  since  she  was  oblivious  that 
she  was  as  much  a  back  number  as  the  Lama  of  Thibet. 
The  prisoner  still  regarded  herself  as  an  important  per- 
son, and  the  narrowness  of  her  outlook  augured  badly 
for  her  contact  with  the  Catholicism  of  her  Judge. 
Nevertheless  no  one  could  deny  that  she  possessed  an 
attractiveness  traceable  to  the  best  pride  and  to  a 
gentleness  which  told  of  years  of  training  in  self-sup- 
pression. It  remained  to  be  seen  whether  this  was 
only  veneer  or  whether  it  could  stand  contradiction, 
but,  whatever  the  verdict,  there  was  no  fear  that  she 
would  not  accept  it  without  flinching,  or,  to  use  her  own 
vernacular,  "in  accordance  with  the  traditions  of  her 
house." 

"I  am  here  against  my  will,"  she  said,  "though  I 
acknowledge  that  it  is  a  comfort  to  accuse  myself  of  a 
past  so  unreal  that  I  now  fail  to  see  how  it  ever  allured 
me.  It  is  stranger  still  how  it  held  me  so  long,  for  it 
was  insufferably  dull.  I  have  read  much  modern 
literature  on  the  role  of  our  set,  which  was  sadly  dis- 
respectful, and  evidently  written  by  those  who  had  not 
the  private  entree,  but  I  am  compelled  to  own  that  there 
was  more  truth  in  those  witticisms  than  I  have  hitherto 
allowed  myself  to  admit.  We  were  careful,  as  a  rule, 
to  avoid  anything  which  might  be  termed  comic,  hav- 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  39 

ing  practised  the  pronunciation  of  prunes  and  prisms 
which  makes  me  grateful  for  even  this  relief. 

''The  virus  of  the  system  entered  into  us  from  our 
christening,  and  even  in  the  nursery  we  learned  to  strut, 
so  that  years  before  we  made  our  bow  to  the  world  of 
fashion  we  had  become  little  marionettes.  Marriage 
was  held  up  to  us  as  the  end-all  of  existence,  and  we 
were  continually  watched  lest  we  should  be  natural  or 
do  anything  that  was  not  well-bred.  Etiquette  was  a 
cult  among  us,  though,  from  my  present  standpoint, 
we  became  inane  as  the  result  of  our  worship.  Our 
parents,  who  were  abnormally  rich,  took  it  for  granted 
that  their  daughters  would  make  suitable  alliances. 
The  question  of  love  was  seldom  discussed,  and  I  re- 
member an  elderly  relation  pronouncing  it  to  be  plebeian. 
For  my  own  part  (though  whether  the  tendency  was 
innate  or  acquired  is  beyond  me  to  determine)  had  I 
been  asked  what  appealed  to  me  most,  I  should  un- 
hesitatingly have  answered  a  coronet,  with  strawberry 
leaves  for  preference.  Looking  back,  I  marvel  less  at 
my  parents'  ignorance  than  at  my  own  crass  folly,  nor 
have  I  a  shadow  of  excuse  to  offer  for  sentiments  which 
I  now  regard  as  vulgar  and  despicable.  I  should  of 
course  have  spurned  the  accusation,  having  been  taught 
at  least  to  pretend  that  such  considerations  were  be- 
neath my  notice. 

"All  the  girls  in  the  family,  strange  to  say,  were 
equally  correct,  and,  to  use  the  language  of  our  world, 
they  did  as  they  ought,  which  means  that  they  did 
extremely  well.  To  speak  for  myself,  I  knew,  without 


40  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

question,  that  I  was  doing  despite  to  the  instincts  of 
nature  and  of  conscience.  The  blame  was  the  greater 
since  I  was  gifted  with  a  good  brain,  nor  was  it  as  if  I 
had  fallen  into  a  trap,  or  been  sold  without  my  con- 
nivance. I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  was  intended  of 
heaven  to  adorn  a  great  position,  and,  however  much  I 
may  have  been  moved  before  my  chance  came,  I  care- 
fully bided  my  time,  regardless  of  any  qualms  I  might 
have  caused  in  others.  These  harmless  sensations, 
indeed,  served  to  ruffle  the  even  surface  of  my  days, 
and  there  was  but  little  or  no  ache  in  the  place  where 
my  heart  should  have  been.  The  plan  of  my  future 
menage  was  deliberately  thought  out,  nor  can  I  deny 
that  I  was  content  with  my  bargain. 

"The  joy  of  existence  spelt,  in  my  case,  an  ambition 
for  which  I  willingly  sacrificed  not  only  the  claims  of 
affection,  but  (a  surrender  I  paid  for  still  more  heavily 
later)  of  knowledge,  which,  from  the  time  of  my  choice, 
receded  farther  into  the  background.  Not  that  our 
library  was  not  one  of  the  best,  or  that  we  neglected  to 
have  a  supply  of  the  latest  books  and  reviews  on  the 
table,  but  many  of  the  latter  remained  uncut,  while 
the  former  was  gradually  deserted.  When  my  prize 
came  along  I  secured  him  without  much  difficulty, 
hampered  as  he  was  by  an  establishment  demanding 
an  heiress,  and  the  arrangement  was  soon  concluded. 
It  would  be  untrue  to  suggest  that  I  was  deeply  moved 
by  fears  for  the  future  or  regrets  for  the  past.  The 
prospect  of  my  new  grandeur  filled  my  horizon,  and  I 
was  too  well  schooled  to  make  a  display  of  feeling  which 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  41 

did  not  exist.  The  Church  blessed  the  union  with 
pomp  and  solemnity,  but  without  questioning  my 
motives  or  the  state  of  my  heart.  As  I  see  it  by  the 
light  of  to-day,  I  can  imagine  no  instance  of  greater 
blasphemy  or  conspiracy  to  defraud  than  that  won- 
derful wedding,  which  afforded  talk  for  days,  encour- 
aged trade,  and  inspired  many  present  to  aim  at  the 
same  goal. 

"As  for  my  duty  to  my  new  position,  I  doubt  whether 
at  first  I  gave  a  thought  to  the  obligations  involved, 
though  eventually  they  formed  the  only  part  of  it  which 
made  it  bearable.  Privilege  up  to  the  hilt  was  what  I 
desired  and  what  I  meant  to  have,  nor  at  the  time  did 
I  care  for  much  else  except  to  become  a  great  lady.  As 
regards  my  marriage,  I  paid  a  price  sufficient  to  satisfy 
my  worst  enemy,  but  I  prefer  to  accept  the  fact  and  be 
silent.  At  least  I  never  deceived  myself  in  the  choice 
of  my  life's  partner,  and  I  cannot  understand  those  who 
place  on  the  shoulders  of  another  the  burden  of  a  fault 
which  at  any  rate  ought  to  be  shared.  That  my  heart 
woke  and  had  its  revenge  is  not  surprising,  and  each  day 
I  found  myself  striving,  within  the  limitations  I  had 
invoked,  to  invent  some  new  outlet  for  the  emotions 
that  I  had  denied.  It  is  difficult  to  picture  anything 
more  tedious  than  the  routine  of  my  existence,  but  I 
consoled  myself  by  every  fashionable  device  for  appearing 
busy  and  expending  my  energies,  while  remaining  in- 
variably correct. 

"I  found  the  poor  my  chief  refuge,  and  in  visiting 
them  learned,  almost  to  my  awakening,  what  I  had  lost. 


42 

I  grew  to  envy  them,  though  they  envied  me,  and  many 
a  time  I  wept  in  my  boudoir  when  I  recalled  a  mother 
crooning  over  her  child.  I  even  read  by  stealth  a  Book 
which  I  found  in  every  cottage,  and  would  have  given 
the  world  to  appropriate,  but  which  remained  to  me 
Chinese,  while  to  them  it  spoke  in  their  native  language. 
There  were  moments  when  I  almost  yielded,  but,  having 
learned  some  logic  when  I  was  a  girl,  I  persuaded  my- 
self that,  had  I  done  so,  I  would  have  had  either  to  retire 
from  a  place  I  had  gained  at  the  expense  of  my  soul,  or 
become  a  hopeless  stumbling-block  by  my  new  pro- 
fession in  such  a  milieu.  Little  did  the  people  know 
what  had  come  to  me  through  them,  but  the  dilemma 
was  too  great  for  me  to  face,  and,  having  made  my  own 
bed,  I  elected  to  lie  on  it. 

"I  reverted  to  the  conventional  when  I  returned  to 
the  world,  and  checked  myself  in  the  matter  of  religion, 
which  I  found  incompatible,  beyond  a  certain  point, 
with  the  drawing-room  and  the  Court.  Thus  my  life 
was  spent  in  display  or  entertainment  or  pleasure,  all 
of  the  most  approved  description,  though  I  found  time 
for  good  works,  and  longed,  as  a  peri  outside  paradise,  to 
enter  the  kingdom  of  pain.  At  last  I  begin  to  see  my 
senseless  stupidity  in  having  left  no  legacy  behind  me 
save  that  of  an  insipid  and  colourless  story.  Unac- 
customed to  sue  for  favours,  I  come  here  to  state  my 
case,  and  to  pray  you  of  your  goodness  so  to  judge  me, 
that,  by  some  means,  however  difficult,  the  soul  which 
I  bartered  may  be  quickened,  and  that,  escaping  from 
these  chimaeras,  I  may  find  the  Christ." 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  43 

The  advocate  was  strongly  moved  by  the  recital  of 
the  prisoner's  history,  but,  on  rising,  felt  that  he  had  by 
no  means  a  hopeless  task.  "My  Lord,"  he  said,  "I 
beg  leave  to  assure  you  that  the  lady  has  not  done  herself 
justice,  being  still  a  slave  to  that  good  form  of  which 
she  has  freely  accused  herself.  I  know  of  few  tenderer 
hearts,  and  of  none  more  capable  of  natural  love  or 
girlish  gaiety.  Times  without  number  that  heart  has 
gone  near  to  breaking,  without  one  complaint  against 
those  who  so  brought  her  up  that  the  great  mistake  of 
her  life  was  inevitable,  but  always  holding  that  the  false 
step  was  hers  alone.  Again  and  again,  might  she  have 
had  her  way,  she  would  have  exchanged  the  ceremony 
and  the  glitter  for  a  cottage  on  the  mountain  side  (at 
least  she  thought  so),  but  she  played  the  game  better 
than  she  has  alleged,  and,  whatever  her  shortcomings, 
she  never  quailed. 

"Her  religious  side  was  stronger  than  she  has  outlined, 
and,  though  the  world  in  her  withered  her  piety,  she 
was  more  a  woman  of  prayer  than  was  ever  guessed. 
Though  she  spoke  of  herself  as  outside  the  kingdom  of 
pain,  she  suffered  intensely  in  secret,  and  more  than 
once  would  have  thrown  herself  on  the  mercy  of  the 
Magistrate  had  she  not  been  holden  by  pride.  The 
passion  of  her  heart  was  the  welfare  of  the  masses  —  the 
last  thing  of  which  she  would  have  been  accused;  but 
the  contrast  appealed,  and  she  yearned  to  do  them  a 
kindness  without  conferring  an  obligation.  Her  own 
awkwardness  in  this  connection  was  a  grief  to  her,  but, 
try  as  she  might,  she  could  not  escape  from  being 


44  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

artificial.  She  hated  the  distance  which  her  own  sel- 
fishness had  placed  between  them  and  her,  but  whether 
she  would  have  diminished  it  the  better  to  express  her 
caring  is  known  only  to  your  Lordship.  I  put  it  to  you 
that  the  gradual  congealing  of  a  generous  nature,  almost 
strangled  by  convention  at  its  birth,  was  largely  attrib- 
utable to  the  sphere  in  which  she  moved.  She  might 
have  become  human  save  for  her  parents  and  for  the 
crowd  of  satellites  who  spoiled  her,  and  I  wish  to  em- 
phasise the  point  that,  however  else  she  failed,  she  was  a 
rigid  enemy  of  laxity  of  morals. 

"I  would  ask  you,  then,  to  deal  leniently  with  her 
perverted  judgment,  which  was  causative  of  what  fol- 
lowed, but  which  can  be  readily  understood,  consider- 
ing the  bait  dangled  before  her  eyes  from  childhood. 
Since  she  had  persuaded  herself  that  there  were  few 
higher  functions  than  service  to  the  Throne,  royalty 
became  for  her  a  talisman,  but  she  did  not  grasp  its 
mystic  lesson  or  the  largeness  of  its  application.  She 
considered  to  be  on  duty  actually  sacred,  nor  was  it  sur- 
prising that,  through  dwelling  on  ceremonials,  she  came  to 
imagine  that  she  belonged  to  another  order  of  beings. 
This  was  not  her  chronic  condition,  and  so  contrary  was 
it  to  the  age  hi  which  she  lived,  that  at  other  times  she 
wondered  how  long  the  farce  would  continue.  The 
pathos  of  her  inward  conflict  would  unman  me  were  I 
pleading  to  any  other  than  your  Lordship,  but,  though 
much  of  her  story  is  contemptible,  I  would  argue  that 
its  ground  colour  partakes  largely  of  the  humorous. 
Knowing  her  as  I  do,  I  can  testify  that  she  was  more 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  45 

victimised  than  harmful,  and  I  cannot  but  feel  that  her 
heart  is  destined,  by  a  process  of  expansion  such  as  you 
alone  can  advise,  to  fulfil  itself  on  a  scale  worthy  of  her 
silent  longings." 

The  Judge's  tone  was  sanguine,  though  his  eyes  quiv- 
ered as  he  spoke  with  the  accused,  reserving  his  sen- 
tence. When  he  questioned  her  as  to  her  girlhood,  she 
answered  that  it  was  spoilt  by  lack  of  surprise,  and  that 
her  enjoyment  was  cloyed  by  excessive  indulgence. 

Asked  as  to  her  education,  she  owned  to  having  had 
the  best  teachers  that  money  could  command,  but  the 
result  was  a  smattering  intended  more  for  show  than  for 
excellence  in  any  special  subject. 

When  the  Judge  tried  to  discover  the  best  moments  in 
her  early  years,  she  replied  the  days  when  she  was  taken 
to  a  children's  hospital,  or  when,  dressed  in  the  simplest 
clothes,  she  was  allowed  to  scamper  on  her  pony  to  her 
heart's  delight. 

At  the  enquiry  if  she  loved  her  suitor,  even  at  first, 
a  sadness  came  over  her,  and  she  began  to  dream  of 
things  which  might  have  been. 

WThen  the  Judge  referred  to  her  attitude  towards  the 
society  into  which  she  had  entered  at  her  marriage,  her 
frankness  was  striking  as  she  said  that,  on  this  count, 
she  felt  guilty  of  theft,  since  she  had  not  given  her  heart 
for  what  she  had  gained,  and  had  therefore  given  nothing. 

The  mention  of  her  children  revealed  the  mother  up 
to  a  point,  but  when  the  Judge  desired  to  know  whether 
she  would  prefer  them  to  be  brought  up  in  simplicity, 
she  winced  and  candidly  owned  that,  though  she  knew 


46  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

her  answer  to  be  illogical,  she  still  wished  them  to  pos- 
sess the  honours  which  had  been  responsible  for  her  own 
failure. 

On  being  examined  as  to  her  remoteness  and  her  pre- 
tensions, which  betrayed  a  grievous  lack  of  ordinary 
courtesy,  she  confessed  that  the  habit  had  grown  upon 
her  imperceptibly,  but  that,  in  such  a  presence,  she 
could  only  feel  it  to  be  a  gross  impertinence. 

When  the  Judge  alluded  to  the  people,  especially  to 
the  suffering  women  in  whom  she  was  interested,  her 
tears  began  to  flow,  and  the  real  person  was  disclosed. 
Even  then  she  confessed  that  she  could  not  see  her  way 
to  forego  the  ridiculous  dignity  of  her  state,  but  that  she 
would  willingly  supply  funds  to  those  who  would  act 
as  almoners  on  her  behalf. 

Asked  whether  she  did  not  deem  it  an  inconceivable 
waste  of  time  to  spend  the  few  years  allotted  to  her  in 
constant  ceremony  and  unlimited  attention  to  the  dress- 
maker, the  Grande  Dame  admitted  that,  from  her  new 
point  of  view,  the  folly,  apart  from  the  extravagance, 
amounted  to  a  sin. 

When  the  Judge  sought  to  discover  her  relations  to- 
wards the  women  of  her  day  who  strove  to  raise  their 
sisters  by  every  means  in  their  power,  and,  often  enough, 
at  the  expense  of  all  they  held  dear,  her  answer  was 
that  she  had  frequently  condemned  such  people  as 
common,  though  inwardly  conscious  that  their  ideals 
were  true,  but,  if  realised,  would  sweep  away,  the  priv- 
ileges which  she  enjoyed. 

As  to  her  connection  with  hospitals,  bazaars,  and  the 


47 

general  role  of  Lady  Bountiful,  the  prisoner  naively  stated 
that,  for  the  most  part,  she  was  intensely  bored.  Never- 
theless she  felt  that,  unless  she  went  through  them,  her 
position  was  in  danger,  and  she  regarded  them  as  delicate 
sops  to  what  she  called  "  the  lower  classes." 

Here  the  Judge,  with  the  faintest  suspicion  of  annoy- 
ance, asked  how  she  dared  to  indulge  in  such  language,  to 
which  she  responded  that  she  supposed  it  would  take  a 
long  time  to  get  it  into  her  brain  that  she  was  of  the 
same  flesh  and  blood  as  common  folk. 

When  in  conclusion  he  enquired  if  she  had  ever  felt 
intense  since  she  had  given  herself  over  to  formality,  she 
allowed  that  she  had  had  visions  of  the  heroic  now  and 
again,  but  that  she  had  shut  them  out  lest  they  should 
flood  her  world  with  light  and  show  up  its  gruesome  hol- 
lowness. 

The  Judge  was  disappointed  at  the  hold  which  custom 
had  gained  over  this  poor  lady  who  so  soon  contradicted 
many  of  the  softer  spots  of  her  confession,  and  found  him- 
self mainly  thrown  back  on  the  pleading  of  her  advocate. 
But,  mercifully  for  her,  he  saw  beneath  appearances  and, 
in  pronouncing  his  sentence,  displayed  a  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  the  world  with  which  few  would  have 
credited  him. 

"It  is  not  for  me,"  he  said,  "to  increase  your  distress, 
and  I  will  only  remark  at  the  outset  that  I  cannot  imagine 
anything  more  fatuous  and  unwise  than  the  planning  of 
your  life.  The  harm  which  you  and  those  answerable 
for  it  have  done  is  greater  than  you  can  measure,  or  ever 
intended,  and  little  can  you  guess  the  thousands  degraded 


48  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

by  your  desecration  of  the  name  Love.  With  your  real 
need  of  affection  I  know  that  you  have  been  more  than 
punished  in  expelling  the  best,  and  in  mistaking  paste  for 
jewels.  I  wish  to  bring  it  home  to  you  that  countless 
women  through  you  have  wrecked  their  lives  and  be- 
come infected  with  the  same  vulgarity.  Here  there  is 
no  question  of  titles,  which  some  might  be  disposed  to 
uphold  on  the  pretext  of  having  something  to  live  up  to, 
though  reason  would  suggest  that  that  is  applicable  to 
all;  but  unless  a  marriage  is  undertaken  for  love,  and  love 
alone,  the  person  concerned  has  sold  her  body  and  done 
despite  to  her  honour. 

"Your  subsequent  faults  are  a  natural  result  of,  or  at 
least  allied  to,  your  initial  error.  At  the  back  of  your 
failings  is  the  lack  of  that  very  refinement  of  which 
you  bought  the  letter,  and,  in  the  purchase,  sold  the 
spirit.  You  may  take  comfort  in  the  certainty  that  the 
truest  part  of  your  nature  is  that  side  which  loved  the 
children's  hospital  and  the  freedom  of  the  outdoor  life, 
with  its  absence  of  self-consciousness  or  of  the  world. 

"You  and  your  exclusive  circle  need  to  learn  that, 
though  in  numbers  you  are  a  negligible  quantity,  the  evil 
of  accentuating  and  developing  snobbery  cannot  be 
overrated.  Avoiding  as  you  do  personal  touch  with  the 
crowd,  whom  you  look  down  on  as  belonging  to  another 
creation,  you  are  apt  to  forget  the  wrath  at  such  an  insult 
which  may  overwhelm  them,  and  the  red  ruin  which  may 
follow  in  its  train.  In  a  sense  you  make  it  more  difficult 
to  believe  in  the  Gospel  than  does  the  courtesan,  and 
when  you  speak  of  desiring  to  find  the  Christ,  you  forget 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  49 

that  He  is  acclaimed  such  because  He  was  the  Friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners.  You  seldom  pause  to  con- 
sider how  human  nature  battens  on  the  tale  of  a  glamour 
which  you  affect  to  despise,  but  which  you  have  no  inten- 
tion of  foregoing.  It  would  seem  to  have  escaped  your 
notice  that  the  hungry  hate  you  while  they  fawn  on  you, 
and  feast  their  eyes  on  tiaras,  which  you  will  concede  are 
out  of  keeping  with  the  vein  of  sympathy  permeating 
your  admissions. 

"It  is  still  more  trenchant  that  this  is  no  corollary  to 
your  condition.  There  are  those  of  your  class  who  have 
been  reckoned  among  the  sweetest  women  of  their  day,  and 
who,  accepting  privilege  at  its  proper  worth,  have  helped 
to  gladden  and  humanise  the  world.  Such  exceptions 
have  made  the  Gospel  lovable,  and,  being  too  refined  to 
think  over  much  of  circumstance,  have  left  the  impres- 
sion that  their  main  concern  was  the  sisterhood.  This 
obtained,  however,  in  spite  of  their  surroundings,  and 
cost  them  an  isolation  in  the  world  of  fashion  as  the  un- 
varying price  of  their  consistency.  No  one  understands 
this  better  than  yourself,  and,  in  brief,  its  lesson  is  that, 
if  you  desire  to  expiate  your  mistakes,  you  must  first 
realise  that  you  are  extremely  small,  that  you  have 
been  persistently  self-indulgent,  and  that  only  through 
a  course  of  self-violence  can  you  truly  become  a  Grande 
Dame. 

"Your  sentence,  therefore,  is  that,  however  long  it 
may  take  you  (and  you  have  only  yourself  to  please) ,  you 
shall  have  no  rest,  and  you  shall  know  no  peace  till  you 
have  discovered  the  secret  of  tenderness  and  the  courage 


50  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

of  sincerity.  You  shall  find  yourself  in  the  same  position 
which  your  ancestors  occupied  before  their  fortunes  came 
to  them  through  means  which  cannot  bear  too  close 
inspection.  Though  this  may  surprise  you,  therein  lies 
much  of  the  accumulated  insolence  with  which  both  your 
families  were  impregnated,  and  which  expressed  itself 
in  your  career,  picturesque,  elegant,  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  pious  as  it  may  have  been.  You  shall,  for  the 
future,  be  unimpeded  in  the  development  of  your  being, 
and  the  best  in  you  will  have  a  chance  of  flourishing 
under  the  primitive  conditions  for  which  you  profess  to 
pine.  You  shall  live  in  the  midst  of  trouble  and  pain 
which  only  sympathy  can  alleviate,  and  it  will  be  a  hard 
and  a  toilsome  road,  since  you  will  carry  with  you  the 
recollection  of  the  past. 

"Your  children  must  fight  their  own  battles  under 
the  disadvantages  which  you  have  brought  upon  them, 
and  which  you  would  not  alter  if  you  could,  but  their 
mother  shall  experience  a  joy  which  the  world  can  never 
give,  and  which  she  alone  can  bestow  upon  herself.  You 
shall  be  known  as  one  who  saw  to  it  that  none  should 
ever  accuse  her  of  timidity,  or  even  prudence,  hi  a  great 
cause.  You  shall  rejoice  in  an  ecstasy  from  which  you 
have  hitherto  been  debarred,  and  you  shall  at  last  know 
the  thrill  of  being  yourself,  without  fearing  to  forfeit 
your  dignity  in  the  excess  of  your  devotion.  Let  me 
console  you  by  saying  that,  with  your  disposition,  the 
time  will  not  be  long,  but  that,  in  the  words  of  your  ad- 
vocate, you  are  meant  to  accomplish  an  infinity  of  good. 
A  radical  change  is  involved,  but  I  know  you  too  well  to 


LA  GRANDE  DAME  51 

think  you  would  wish  it  otherwise,  and  your  staying 
power  will  serve  you  till  you  achieve,  not  the  false,  but 
the  true  nobility.  You  will  have  found  the  key  to  the 
Book  which  was  open  to  the  peasant,  and  which  speaks 
of  a  crown,  but  one  of  thorns." 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   YELLOW  PRESS 

A  MORE   than   ordinary   collision    between    good 
and  evil  was  in  the  air.     Though  the  presence 
of  the  Judge  expelled  despair,  the  face  of  the  ac- 
cused brought  it  perilously  near.     It  was  difficult  to  sup- 
press a  desire  that  the  trial  might  be  concluded  with  no 
delay,  and  that  this  Augean  stable  might  be  cleansed  at 
the  hands  of  one  stronger  than  Hercules,  but  whose  love 
surpassed  that  of  women.     The  puzzle  was  to  discover 
anything  worthy  in  the  prisoner,  and  faith  in  the  divine 
spark  latent  in  all  was  severely  tested. 

Again  and  again  the  effort  had  to  be  made  to  think  of 
him  as  part  of  a  vast  machine,  powerless  in  himself,  and 
carried  away  by  a  stream  no  human  strength  could  stem. 
What  could  be  his  private  life?  Had  he  children?  Did  he 
know  aught  of  those  endearments  which  go  far  to  soften 
the  cruellest  characters?  To  such  questions  there  was 
no  answer,  and  it  was  hard  to  evoke  an  atom  of  pity  for 
one  who  appeared  as  adamant.  The  influence  of  his 
personality  was  inimical,  breathing  the  atmosphere  not 
so  much  of  the  criminal  as  of  the  cynic.  As  for  the 
veriest  gleam  of  repentance,  he  had  none,  and,  even  at 
such  a  crisis,  was  more  on  the  lookout  for  "copy"  than 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  53 

occupied  with  the  thought  of  the  Judge,  whom  he  al- 
together failed  to  appreciate.  The  absence  of  business 
or  movement  evidently  tried  him,  and  he  chafed  at  the 
waste  of  time.  He  missed  the  cables,  the  telephones, 
tape  machines,  and  host  of  reporters  which  had  become 
his  daily  food.  After  managing  the  affairs  of  the  world, 
it  struck  him  as  monstrous  that  a  moment  should  have 
arrived  which  was  concerned  with  the  management  of 
himself.  But  he  took  it  all  with  perfect  sang  froid,  and 
adopted  the  usual  bluff  of  one  accustomed  to  tight  places, 
doubtless  expecting  to  convert  the  incident,  as  of  old, 
into  another  gigantic  and  stupendous  scoop:  "GOD 
AND  THE  YELLOW  NEWS,  EXCLUSIVE  INTER- 
VIEW!" immediately  suggested  itself. 

He  was  constrained  by  the  same  irresistible  force  which 
affected  all  arraigned,  and  his  action  was  that  of  a  para- 
lysed man,  whose  limbs  moved  in  a  direction  contrary 
to  his  will.  His  initiative  was  palpably  diminished  when 
he  found  himself  reduced  to  the  condition  of  crystal. 
Without  the  slightest  deference  or  shame  as  to  his  situa- 
tion, he  rose  and,  in  a  metallic  voice  by  no  means  in  his 
favour,  addressed  the  Judge : 

"I  find  myself  here,  apart  from  any  desire  of  my  own, 
for  a  searching  audit,  so  would  express  a  hope  that  you 
will  restrict  the  business  to  reasonable  limits,  as  I  rebel 
against  this  detention.  Kindly  note  that  the  confusion 
due  to  my  absence  will  cause  much  inconvenience  else- 
where." (The  accused  was  still  under  the  impression 
that  the  end  of  the  world  would  come  if  he  were  removed 
from  it.)  "The  terse  description  of  my  dossier  is  that  I 


54  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

set  myself  to  exploit  the  earth  and,  by  hook  or  by  crook, 
to  use  the  same  for  my  own  purposes,  playing  it,  as  one 
would  a  fish,  with  every  variety  of  fly  which  might  at- 
tract. 

"Where  or  how  I  acquired  the  art,  or,  as  many  might 
prefer  to  call  it,  the  knack,  is  not  important,  but  I  con- 
gratulate myself  on  being  very  much  up  to  date.  My 
early  enterprises  were  comparatively  modest,  as  I  realised 
that  the  public  had  to  be  gently  educated  and  accustomed 
to  the  garbage  which  by  degrees  became  their  necessary 
pabulum.  I  knew  they  had  been  previously  reared  on 
healthier  food,  but  I  set  myself  to  spoil  their  palate,  in- 
sisting that  my  sole  desire  was  to  satisfy  their  natural 
appetite.  Though  the  confession  savours  of  brutality, 
I  flatter  myself  that  I  made  them  want  it.  When  the 
mischief  was  done,  I  emulated  Pilate  in  the  washing  of 
my  hands,  and  regretted  that  I  was  forced  to  supply 
their  needs. 

"There  was  not  a  sensation  in  human  nature  to  which 
I  did  not  pander,  and  I  made  it  a  point  that  my  count- 
less readers  should  be  liberated  from  the  trouble  of 
thinking.  Covetousness  I  roused  without  any  qualms,  di- 
lating on  the  glory  of  gold,  supplying  stories  suggestive 
of  Aladdin's  lamp,  and  pointing  out  how  every  one  could 
find  it  by  reading  my  journals.  I  stirred  up  discord 
between  Capital  and  Labour,  master  and  man,  feeding 
the  strike-fire  with  the  fuel  of  dissension  and  hatred. 
By  being  ultra  patriotic  I  lashed  the  people  into  a 
paroxysm  of  fury  with  their  neighbours  across  our  fron- 
tiers, and  constantly  did  my  best  to  plunge  nations  into 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  55 

war.  The  thought  of  the  wreckage  bound  to  follow  in 
its  train,  which  could  never  have  happened  save  for 
the  deliberate  misrepresentation  of  the  foreigner  by 
myself  and  those  of  my  kidney  in  the  opposite  camp, 
failed  to  touch  me  compared  to  the  prospect  of  an  enor- 
mous increase  in  our  circulation. 

"To  foster  the  lower  instincts  was  a  prominent  part 
of  my  programme,  and  on  such  subjects  as  murders, 
horrors,  accidents,  fighting,  crime,  and  brutal  contests, 
under  the  heading  of  sport,  we  outvied  all  other  publica- 
tions in  the  pungency  of  our  descriptions.  Finding  that 
divorce  news  was  acceptable,  our  numbers  could  never 
be  accused  of  lack  of  intrigue,  innuendo,  or  tasty  refer- 
ence, over  which  the  prurient  might  gloat  and  become 
eager  for  the  next  issue.  The  enjoyment  found  in  this 
exposure  of  the  skeletons  of  other  people  was  self-evident, 
and  was  accompanied  by  a  cheerful  carelessness  for  the 
sorrow  and  shame  caused  by  such  publicity  to  those 
concerned.  As  for  the  real  interests  of  the  world  or  the 
religious  side  of  life,  we  took  care,  now  and  again,  to 
notice  the  melodramatic,  so  as  to  impress  the  masses 
with  the  idea  that  we  were  deeply  affected  by  higher 
things,  but  in  this  connection  our  space  was  curtailed. 

"I  confess  that  there  is  something  about  your  pres- 
ence that  makes  me  shudder  at  the  possible  result  of 
my  ventures,  and  I  am  coming  to  the  conclusion  that 
few  have  been  so  callous  in  poisoning  their  generation. 
At  the  time,  however,  it  was  a  joy  to  me  that  I  accumu- 
lated my  thousands  out  of  the  coppers  of  the  people,  to 
say  nothing  of  such  side  issues  as  our  connection  with 


56  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

company  promoters  or  with  social  enterprises  on  the 
part  of  those  not  as  yet  arrived.  We  did  a  good  trade 
blackmailing  many  who  were  hopelessly  in  our  toils  and 
were  ready  to  pay  any  sum  for  our  silence.  Yet  I  trace 
our  main  success  to  the  murder  of  thought,  to  a  combina- 
tion of  levity  and  lewdness,  and  to  a  careful  admixture 
of  the  sentimental  with  the  sensual,  whereby  we  obtained 
a  satanic  empire  of  our  own,  until  we  prided  ourselves 
that  the  world  could  not  do  without  our  wares.  In  a 
word,"  said  the  prisoner,  who  was  on  the  verge  of  a  col- 
lapse, but  who,  with  a  supreme  effort  of  will,  managed  to 
regain  his  self-control,  "I  own  without  remorse  that  I 
have  sinned  successfully,  that  the  whole  scheme  origi- 
nated with  myself,  and  that  I  now  await  your  decision 
as  to  the  future." 

The  advocate's  position  was  an  unenviable  one  as 
he  stood  up  to  make  his  speech.  The  astonishing  thing 
was  the  perseverance  of  his  love  for  the  accused,  and 
there  was  a  look  of  pain  suggesting  wonder  lest  he  had 
failed  at  times,  through  a  natural  shrinking,  to  fulfil 
his  office  of  protector  and  guide.  He  was  comforted  by 
an  upward  glance  at  the  Judge,  as  he  called  to  mind  the 
quickening  by  Love  of  one  who  for  four  days  had  been 
an  object  of  revulsion. 

"Conscious  that  I  have  but  little  to  say,  I  make  a 
special  appeal  to  your  Lordship's  mercy  in  a  case  where 
the  powers  of  darkness  have  made  a  peculiarly  terrific 
attack  on  a  weak  mortal.  It  is  not  for  me  to  argue  as 
to  the  inequality  of  the  onslaught,  knowing  as  I  do  that, 
had  his  eyes  been  opened,  he  would  have  seen  that  the 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  57 

hosts  on  his  side  were  greater  than  those  by  which  he 
was  threatened.  Your  charity  will  take  it  into  consider- 
ation that  he  may  be  classed  among  those  who  were  born 
blind.  I  find  it  hard  to  explain  or  apologise  for  one 
item  of  his  cold  conceding,  though  it  is  my  duty  to  point 
out  that,  even  in  his  professional  work,  he  found  space 
for  the  children  and  the  unfortunate,  being  overcome 
by  attacks  of  generosity  and  kindness.  Your  obstinate 
hopefulness,  my  Lord,  alone  prevents  me  throwing  up  my 
brief.  For  the  rest,  I  believe  silence  to  be  my  best 
course." 

The  face  of  the  Judge  was  set  like  a  flint,  but  with  his 
evident  condemnation  was  blended  compassion  for  the 
unhappy  man  on  whom  he  was  about  to  pronounce 
judgment.  He,  too,  had  plainly  not  forgotten  the  in- 
cidents which  had  flashed  across  the  mind  of  the  advo- 
cate, and  at  such  a  time  it  was  consoling  to  feel  that  his 
nature  was  proof  against  embitterment.  Restraining 
himself  with  a  visible  effort,  he  treated  the  prisoner  with 
special  courtesy,  as  a  man  is  apt  to  doff  his  hat  in  the 
presence  of  a  ruin.  To  a  person  like  the  Judge  the 
story  to  which  he  had  listened  brought  nothing  less  than 
anguish,  not  so  much  because  of  the  sordid  love  of 
gold  which  it  breathed  as  of  the  ruthlessness  manifested 
throughout.  He  was  thinking  of  a  type  which  had  best 
be  relegated  to  the  sea  with  a  millstone  round  its  neck, 
but  none  knew  better  than  he  that  thousands  would  be 
only  too  ready  to  step  into  the  shoes  of  the  offender. 

The  cowardice  of  the  transaction  was  repellent  to  this 
most  guileless  of  men.  Its  treachery  recalled  the  figure 


58  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

of  a  serpent,  under  which  the  arch  enemy  of  mankind  has 
been  known  since  the  world  began.  In  nearly  every 
instance  brought  before  him  there  was  at  least  a  certain 
risk  to  the  agent,  but  the  man  with  whom  he  was  now 
dealing  had  done  his  deadly  work  in  the  background,  and 
had  shot  his  arrows  from  behind  battlements.  This 
wounded  him  to  the  quick,  but  between  him  and  too 
hasty  censure  rose  up  the  master  mystery  of  election  and 
the  truth  that  "a  man  was  a  man  for  a'  that." 

"I  have  been  wondering  as  you  spoke,"  said  the  Judge, 
"how  such  a  diabolical  idea  as  that  which  gradually 
took  possession  of  you  came  into  your  head  at  the  outset." 

"  So  far  as  I  can  remember  I  had  cruel  tendencies  as 
a  child,  and  was  brought  up  in  a  home  where  each  had  to 
fend  for  himself,  so  I  suppose  it  made  us  all  more  or  less 
smart,  and  careless  of  the  others." 

"What  was  the  actual  condition  of  your  parents?" 

"I  would  rather  not  say,  but  I  remember  being  filled 
with  the  desire  to  alter  my  mother's  position,  to  add  to 
her  comforts,  and  make  her  a  lady.  My  success  came 
too  late,  and  this  was  the  fly  in  my  ointment." 

"And  your  father?" 

"I  think  we  will  let  that  question  alone,  please,  as 
we  were  never  great  friends." 

"How  did  you  get  on  with  your  brothers?" 

"I  don't  know  that  I  cared  much  about  them  at  the 
time,  though  since  then  I  have  done  them  plenty  of  good 
turns,  much  as  the  Corsican  added  to  his  glory  by  making 
several  kings  in  his  family." 

"Had  you  any  sisters  to  soften  your  life?" 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  59 

"No,  and  I  daresay  it  might  have  made  a  difference, 
but  our  youth  was  a  pretty  hard  one,  and  affection  was 
a  minus  quantity." 

"And  your  schoolfellows?" 

"We  had  to  put  up  with  a  cheap  school,  as  our  father 
had  brought  us  down,  and  we  rebelled  against  it.  When 
I  was  still  a  lad  this  filled  me  with  spleen,  and  I  swore 
that  I  would  have  my  revenge  when  I  grew  up." 

"Would  you  say  that  this  explained  much  of  your 
subsequent  brutality,  which  is  the  only  word  I  can  find 
to  describe  your  methods?  " 

"I  fancy  it  must.  I  can  recall  gnashing  my  teeth 
when  a  four-in-hand  passed  and  I  knew  that  my  invalid 
mother  had  to  go  short." 

"Has  the  scope  of  the  wrong  you  have  done,  and  the 
demoralisation  of  your  country  by  your  actions  since, 
come  home  to  you?" 

"It  stands  to  reason  that  I  cannot  see  this  in  a  mo- 
ment, and  if  it  had  been  apparent,  bad  as  I  am,  I  should 
have  shrunk  from  such  a  consequence.  I  begin  to  realise 
the  magnitude  of  my  offence,  though  heaven  knows  I 
never  took  it  in  before." 

"Can  you  suggest  any  excuse  for  this  murder  of 
thought  which  formed  so  great  a  part  of  your  schemes?" 

"When  I  was  quite  young  I  began  to  look  on  humanity 
as  merely  a  means  of  making  my  pile  and  leaving  the 
world  one  of  its  richest  and,  if  possible,  one  of  its  best- 
known  men." 

"Did  you  never  quail  at  the  thought  of  the  boys  and 
girls  who  were  thus  rendered  unable  to  face  the  tedium 


60  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

of  home  or  to  lead  anything  like  a  regular  existence> 
becoming  dependent  on  the  false  excitement  with  which 
you  continually  fed  them?" 

"Again  I  doubt  if  I  ever  considered  the  matter.  All 
I  knew  was  that,  judging  from  myself,  the  trick  was  to 
make  it  appear  like  a  show  and  to  avoid  such  dry  sub- 
jects as  virtue  and  duty,  both  of  which  I  hated  on  my 
own  account,  and  credited  others  with  the  same  in- 
stincts." 

"Did  it  not  appear  to  you  nothing  less  than  devilish 
to  make  capital  out  of  others'  shame  and  to  expose 
what,  in  your  own  case,  you  would  wish  to  be  buried 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea?" 

"By  the  time  I  arrived  at  this  point  my  heart  must 
have  been  more  or  less  dried  up,  and,  so  long  as  our 
sales  went  up,  I  cared  not  a  fig  who  went  down." 

"Were  you  socially  ambitious?" 

"In  a  way,  yes,  but,  whatever  honours  came  to  me, 
I  was  out  of  my  element  in  refined  company." 

"How  do  you  think  you  will  go  down  to  history,  an 
expression  suited  to  your  pretensions?" 

"There  will  be  a  blank  page." 

"What  would  your  mother  have  said,  if  she  had  lived 
longer?" 

"Here  at  last  you  have  done  me.  Thank  God  she 
went  early,  so  that  she  did  not  witness  my  triumph, 
which  she  would  have  regarded  as  a  defeat  compared 
to  remaining  in  my  own  class,  doing  honourable  work, 
and  being  able  to  look  the  world  in  the  face." 

"Are  you  sorry?" 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  61 

"What  is  the  good  of  being  sorry  now,  just  because  I 
have  no  chance  of  doing  the  same  again?  But  you  have 
made  me  want  some  sort  of  sentence  which  shall  bring 
back  my  self-respect  and,  however  crushing  it  may  be, 
shall  cause  my  heart  to  live,  since,  brute  as  I  have  be- 
come, I  would  rather  have  one  kiss  from  that  mother 
than  all  the  thousands  gotten  at  the  expense  of  my 
public." 

The  wisdom  of  the  Judge,  which,  by  kindness  instead 
of  abuse,  had  brought  the  prisoner  to  the  point  that  he 
desired,  was  little  short  of  miraculous. 

"I  am  rilled,"  he  said,  "with  deep  sorrow  for  your 
case,  as  much  on  account  of  the  ruin  you  have  caused 
as  on  your  own.  That  evil  abounds  and  that  it  plays 
havoc  amongst  men  none  can  deny,  nor  can  I  explain 
it  myself;  but  of  one  thing  I  am  convinced,  namely, 
that  never  has  there  been  a  human  being  but  must  have 
heard  a  whisper  warning  him  at  the  start  that  he  was 
wrong.  Else  I  should  not  have  occupied  this  seat,  nor 
undergone  the  training  necessary  to  sympathise  with 
the  most  tragic  instances  that  might  come  before  me. 

"You  will  forgive  me  if  I  lay  stress  upon  the  nefarious- 
ness  of  your  trade  which  allowed  you,  from  masked  bat- 
teries, to  achieve  the  destruction  of  your  fellowmen. 
It  baffles  me  to  understand  the  villainy  which  became 
your  delight.  The  more  I  ponder  over  what  is  perpe- 
trated by  you  and  your  tribe,  the  more  it  is  laid  upon 
me  to  intercede  that  such  baseness  may  have  an  end. 
Not  that  I  believe  you  considered  too  nicely  the  injury 
you  were  doing  to  others,  so  long  as  you  benefited  your- 


62  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

self,  and  no  one  between  whom  and  his  mother  there 
was  the  relationship  of  which  you  have  spoken  could 
have  been  wholly  bad. 

"  Though  I  have  extracted  more  than  one  concession 
from  you,  I  doubt  whether  you  have  as  yet  taken  in  the 
extent  of  the  evil.  Little  do  you  know  how  you  have 
soiled  your  generation  and  have  introduced  into  the 
world  a  new  set  of  temptations  which  hardly  existed 
before  you  were  born.  The  retrospect  of  having  lowered 
the  standpoint  of  millions  must  be  ghastly  to  contem- 
plate, and  perhaps  the  most  scathing  sentiment  I  can 
express  is  that  you  have  added  to  the  difficulties  of 
piety,  and  rendered  prayer  a  subject  for  scorn.  You 
have  been  the  enemy  of  the  young,  though  you  assumed 
the  role  of  their  friend,  but  when,  through  being  brought 
up  on  your  productions,  they  have  acquired  habits 
which  landed  them  in  hell,  it  is  people  like  you  who  ought 
to  pay  the  bill. 

"You  have  asked  for  a  sentence  which  shall  restore  to 
you  the  childhood  you  have  forfeited,  and  shall  in  some 
degree  atone  for  the  egregious  wrong  you  have  committed. 
In  this  you  shall  be  gratified.  You  need  a  period  of 
passiveness,  since  all  activity  must  for  a  while  be  both 
fatal  to  yourself  and  injurious  to  your  neighbour.  Noth- 
ing short  of  this  can  so  chasten  your  personality  as  to 
make  it  usable  without  harm  to  the  community,  and 
you  must  yourself  cry  out: '  Give  me  milk,'  like  a  sick  girl, 
before  it  will  be  safe  for  you  again  to  dispense  food  for 
the  brain.  An  intense  desire  shall  come  to  you  to  raise 
the  world  in  proportion  as  you  have  degraded  it.  You 


THE  YELLOW  PRESS  63 

shall  find  yourself  filled  with  a  craving  for  souls  whom 
you  shall  daily  witness  under  the  dominion  of  the  forces 
you  have  called  into  being.  You  shall  watch  the  mark 
of  crime  on  the  faces  of  first  offenders,  due  to  the  stuff 
which  you  have  purveyed.  You  shall  be  called  to  con- 
sole many  bowed  down  through  shame  at  the  disclosure 
of  some  family  disgrace,  and  your  heart  shall  be  broken 
in  your  struggle  against  the  same  cruelty  which  stamped 
your  own  career.  You  shall  guess  at  the  hell  which  you 
have  contributed  to  fill,  and  you  shall  find  yourself 
powerless  in  proportion  as  you  have  become  a  stranger 
to  gentleness  or  love  —  the  only  weapons  of  any  value 
in  this  campaign. 

"There  is  for  you  no  other  way,  though  you  have  made 
it  a  steep  and  stony  one.  Until  you  have  ceased  from 
avarice  and  until  you  have  tasted  some  of  the  desolation 
caused  by  the  abuse  of  your  talents,  you  cannot  know 
even  the  commencement  of  content.  It  is  no  pleasure 
to  me  to  inflict  on  you  such  pain,  but,  foreseeing  the 
result,  it  is  my  part  to  show  you  that  only  by  godly  re- 
venge can  you  regain  your  virtue  or  achieve  your  goal. 
That  you  will  arrive  there  I  have  not  a  vestige  of  doubt, 
and  in  its  pursuit  you  will  discover  the  true  value  of 
your  creativeness  and  your  exceptional  power,  which  I 
pledge  you  shall  have  their  full  fruition.  Nothing  shall 
daunt  you  in  your  new  venture,  and  you  shall  thank 
Heaven  for  the  roughness  of  the  path  which  it  will  have 
become  your  joy  to  travel.  No  pardon  can  in  itself 
confer  a  habit  or  alter  a  nature,  but  from  the  place  where 
each  left  the  right  road  he  must  start  afresh  and  negoti- 


64  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

ate  what  remains.  Be  happier,  then,  than  you  have 
been  since  you  were  a  boy,  guided  by  that  star  of  your 
love  for  your  mother  which  will  serve  you  in  the  darkest 
and  the  longest  night.  Nor  need  you  have  the  smallest 
fear  but  that,  by  the  discipline  which  I  have  outlined, 
you  shall  become  an  advertisement  of  God's  goodness. 
Though  the  world  may  have  had  cause  to  hate  you, 
you  shall  win  her  smile." 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   PHILISTINE 

A  WELL-GROOMED,  thoroughly  healthy,  and 
uninteresting  person  took  his  seat,  and  some 
mistake  was  suggested  by  his  presence  in  such  a 
scene.  Not  that  he  would  not  have  been  called  a  good 
fellow,  a  white  man,  a  sportsman,  and  similar  terms, 
but  his  future  was  the  more  alarming  since  there  was 
nothing  to  go  on.  He  left  a  sense  of  weariness,  though 
an  importance  was  added  to  the  figure  by  reason  of  the 
multitudes  who  resembled  him.  Given  a  body,  a  tailor, 
and  a  certain  background,  little  more  was  needed  for  his 
construction,  and  he  set  the  onlooker  searching  for  that 
lerlium  quid  which  differentiates  the  human  from  the 
most  attractive  members  of  the  animal  world.  The  whole 
thing  was  appallingly  meaningless,  and  the  Judge  him- 
self was  likely  to  be  hard  put  to  it  to  save  the  situation 
from  bathos. 

The  attendance  of  this  well-favoured,  rather  vacuous, 
but  withal  nice  individual  at  a  trial  fraught  with  eternal 
issues  would  have  been  grotesque,  had  it  not  been  sig- 
nificant. A  certain  annoyance  was  caused  by  his  good 
looks,  which  implied  nothing,  and  the  entire  lack  of  sor- 
row in  the  Philistine  was  calculated  to  increase  the 

65 


66  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

sentiment.  Of  all  this  the  accused  was  blissfully  uncon- 
scious, and  his  aimless  glance  failed  to  take  in  its  true 
import.  The  Philistine  was  mainly  concerned  with  the 
fit  of  his  coat,  the  colour  of  his  socks,  and  his  general  get- 
up,  which  made  his  world.  It  was  hard  to  think  of 
him  except  in  batches.  One  recalled  crowds  like  him 
in  the  Park,  or  on  a  morning  when  the  scent  was  good,  or 
gazing  out  of  some  club  window  with  the  same  imper- 
turbable smile.  All  said  and  done,  it  was  a  miserable 
spectacle,  more  especially  in  view  of  the  false  romance 
woven  round  him  and  his  ilk,  only  to  result  in  a  fateful 
fatigue,  and  often  followed  by  desperate  deeds  due  to 
sickening  disappointment. 

"I  should  like  to  remark,"  he  began,  in  the  pleasantest 
way,  "how  good  it  is  of  you  to  receive  me  so  charmingly, 
as  I  have  often  heard  of  you,  and  they  tell  me  you  are 
a  topper  in  your  own  line.  Please  don't  think  I  mean 
anything  disrespectful,  but  that  is  a  form  of  compliment 
where  I  used  to  live,  don't  you  know,  with  all  the  other 
fellows.  I  fancy  I  am  here  to  sort  of  reveal  myself,  but 
the  fact  is  I  am  a  reserved  kind  of  chap,  and  have  been 
taught  to  keep  all  that  style  of  thing  to  myself,  don't 
you  know."  (Here  the  Judge  asked  him  if  he  would 
kindly  not  use  the  last  phrase  more  often  than  was 
necessary.)  "Oh,  certainly,  I  beg  your  pardon,  I  am 
sure.  You  see  I  am  not  much  of  a  speaker,  but,  since 
I  knew  my  turn  was  coming  on,  I  have  been  trying  to 
collect  materials,  and  have  cudgelled  my  brains  to  find 
out  what  sort  of  thing  I  ought  to  say. 

"I  feel  sure  you  won't  be  over  hard  on  a  fellow  who  has 


THE  PHILISTINE  67 

spent  his  time  mostly  in  the  open  and  whose  reading  has 
hardly  been  what  you  might  call  deep.  My  life  on  the 
whole  has  been  decent  and  comparatively  clean,  for  I 
was  brought  up  awfully  well,  and  could  never  get  rid  of 
some  instinct  implanted  by  my  mother.  There  was 
no  call  for  me  to  do  anything  particular,  you  see,  but  for 
the  most  part  I  steered  fairly  straight,  believed  tre- 
mendously in  exercise,  and,  in  a  rough  and  ready  way, 
aimed  at  being  a  'white  man.'  I  can't  say  I  allowed 
this  to  interfere  with  a  bit  of  pleasure  now  and  then,  or 
that,  if  it  meant  a  biggish  effort,  I  took  it  too  seriously, 
but  it  became  a  part  of  my  vocabulary  and  I  constantly 
trotted  it  out,  especially  to  the  admiration  of  my  women 
friends,  who  didn't  understand  it,  but  thought  it  very 
fine. 

"I  saw  most  of  the  globe,  or,  rather,  the  surface  of  it, 
and  there  were  uncommonly  few  tricks  I  passed,  but  I 
made  it  a  rule  never  to  neglect  my  health,  as  I  believed 
we  were  sent  into  the  world  in  order  to  keep  fit.  I 
fancy  I  must  have  done  some  good  turns,  if  they  came 
my  way;  anyhow,  I  cannot  call  to  mind  any  bad  ones. 
What  I  liked  about  the  business  was  that  I  had  an  un- 
limited number  of  friends,  who  were  also  awfully  fit,  so 
there  was  no  strain  or  high-f  alutin'  nonsense,  which  might 
have  made  me  ill.  I  also  took  great  pains  about  my 
food,  holding  that  this  item  was  exceedingly  impor- 
tant, and  that  a  gentleman  should  always  know  how  to 
order  a  good  dinner.  Later  in  life  I  settled  down,  and 
am  glad  to  say  that  my  wife,  also,  was  uncommonly 
fit.  In  a  way  we  were  awfully  happy  at  first,  but  that 


68  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

kind  of  thing  palls  after  a  time,  and  I  don't  think  I  was 
ever  built  for  staying  too  much  at  home. 

"I  liked  the  people  on  my  place  more  than  I  knew 
till  I  had  to  say  good-bye,  for  there  was  any  amount  of 
good  sorts  among  them,  so  that  we  became  real  pals. 
The  delightful  part  of  it  was  that  there  was  scarcely 
any  bother,  as  there  was  always  enough  to  go  round. 
We  all  had  a  turn  for  the  same  kind  of  things,  so  there 
grew  up  a  good  fellowship  which  was  about  all  we  wanted, 
and  made  the  time  go  like  lightning.  I  need  not  dwell 
on  the  temptations  which  come  to  a  man  with  any  go 
in  him;  I  managed  them  pretty  carefully.  As  the 
Missus  knew  nothing  about  them,  and  I  still  kept  in 
with  the  neighbouring  clergy,  who  were  capital  fellows, 
though  not  as  fit  as  they  might  be,  I  expect  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  it  is  absurd  to  pull  a  long  face  over  trifles. 

"I  don't  suppose  I  was  ever  dishonest  in  my  life,  but 
I  can't  say  what  would  have  happened  if  I  had  been  in 
a  tight  place.  I  hope  I  should  have  played  the  game 
and  not  forgotten  the  class  to  which  I  belonged.  I  was 
a  strong  advocate  of  patriotism,  and  could  not  bear  the 
type  of  person  who  stirred  up  trouble,  or  allowed  that 
my  country  had  any  faults,  or  went  so  far  as  to  suggest 
an  apology,  even  if  we  had  made  a  bit  of  a  mistake.  I 
always  said  the  great  thing  was  not  to  take  it  lying  down, 
to  keep  the  wheels  well  oiled  and,  if  you  had  a  few  ex- 
tras, to  share  them,  though  everybody's  first  duty  was 
to  look  after  number  one. 

"If  I  were  to  begin  describing  the  sort  of  time  I  put 
in,  it  might  sound  pretty  uneventful,  but  I  shouldn't 


THE  PHILISTINE  69 

mind  having  it  over  again.  The  thought  of  growing 
old  was  my  only  bugbear,  principally  because  it  would 
interfere  with  sport,  and  I  should  not  be  able  to  keep 
up  with  the  others  as  I  used  to.  I  don't  think  I  have 
much  more  to  say,  as  I  did  not  care  greatly  for  politics, 
except,  of  course,  that  I  was  on  the  gentlemanly  side 
and,  if  I  had  to  choose  where  to  go,  it  would  be  to  much 
the  same  old  spot,  which  you'd  find  it  hard  to  beat. 
Meanwhile,  I  am  real  sorry  if  my  story  lacks  colour, 
but  I  never  was  clever,  and  thank  God  for  it,  though 
if  you  could  manage  to  let  me  join  some  of  my  pals,  I 
should  be  more  than  obliged,  as  I  simply  can't  stand 
being  alone." 

When  the  advocate  was  called  upon  to  plead  for  the 
Philistine  he  was  much  affected  by  his  cheerfulness,  and 
found  some  difficulty  in  investing  the  occasion  with 
befitting  solemnity.  Yet  as  he  proceeded  no  one  who 
heard  the  case  but  must  have  wept  over  the  waste  to 
which  it  pointed. 

"I  rise,  my  Lord,"  he  said,  "to  claim  your  indulgence 
on  behalf  of  the  accused,  who  has  within  him  finer  possi- 
bilities than  he  is  aware  of.  I  am  conscious  that  the 
host  of  the  Philistines  is  legion  and  that,  if  reduced  to 
facts,  they  amount  to  hardly  more  than  lizards  in  the 
sun.  I  would  lay  the  blame  largely  on  his  up-bringing, 
and  on  the  custom  which  prevails  of  allowing  drones 
to  exist  in  the  human  hive.  I  believe  the  prisoner  to 
be  ignorant  of  having  offended  in  any  one  respect,  and 
that,  if  it  had  appeared  wrong  to  him,  he  would  not 
have  led  such  an  apology  for  a  life. 


70  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"The  idea  of  leaving  things  undone  which  ought  to 
have  been  done  did  not  enter  his  world,  for  he  was  a 
member  of  that  numerous  class  whose  ethics  are  con- 
fined to  the  negative  commandments,  notably  that  of 
not  being  found  out.  It  is  true  that  even  these  he 
lightly  disregarded,  when  they  proved  inconvenient,  but 
from  my  knowledge  of  him  I  fail  to  see  how  he  could 
have  become  serious  or  have  remained  so  for  long. 
Suffering  as  he  did  from  good  health,  he  was  heavily 
handicapped,  and  I  hold  that  for  him  to  be  'decently 
straight  and  invariably  pleasant '  was  a  bigger  achieve- 
ment than  he  suggests.  I  could  mention  countless 
instances  in  which  his  care  for  animals  afforded  an  ex- 
ample to  the  intensely  religious  which  they  might  well 
lay  to  heart.  In  dealing  with  his  fellows  he  may  have 
confined  himself  to  such  colloquialisms  as  'poor  old  chap/ 
but  they  were  often  accompanied  by  more  practical 
proofs  of  charity  than  many  a  meaningless  'God  bless 
you.'  It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  defend  his  attitude  to- 
wards the  world  at  large,  but  he  began  by  tackling  his 
local  responsibilities  with  all  the  zeal  of  which  he  was 
capable,  though  he  handed  over  the  major  part  of  them  to 
those  whom  he  could  pay  and  who  would  see  him  through. 

"When  death  threatened  he  was  always  to  the  fore, 
and  I  am  moved  to  tears  when  I  think  of  him  trying  to 
express  himself  at  some  dying  bed  or  on  the  scene  of 
some  accident.  I  own,  my  Lord,  that  the  Philistine 
was  selfishness  incarnate,  and  that,  so  long  as  he  was 
fairly  comfortable,  an  earthquake  might  take  place  else- 
where and  his  appetite  would  not  be  affected.  But 


THE  PHILISTINE  71 

my  memory  goes  back  to  a  time  when  I  see  him  risking 
his  life  for  his  country  and  undergoing  every  conceiv- 
able hardship,  while  he  swore  like  a  trooper  that  the 
whole  thing  was  a  nuisance.  It  is  these  contrasts  in  the 
man  which  touch  me,  and  I  cannot  but  wonder  what 
might  have  happened  if  he  had  broken  his  leg,  or  if  he 
had  become  enamoured  of  a  good  woman.  (I  leave  it 
for  your  Lordship  to  decide  on  the  justice  of  such  an 
arrangement  for  the  lady.)  I  am  all  too  conscious  of 
the  anti-climax  presented  by  the  case,  but  I  beg  you 
in  sentencing  the  prisoner  to  pass  a  judgment  which 
shall  open  a  door  of  hope  that  his  best  qualities,  up  till 
now  nullified  by  comfort,  may  be  brought  into  being. 
I  plead  that  none  of  the  strength  or  charm  or  manners, 
or,  best  of  all,  the  brave  brightness,  may  be  lost,  but 
that,  by  some  method  known  to  yourself,  they  may  effect 
their  purpose." 

After  the  speech  of  the  advocate,  the  man  in  the  Judge 
seemed  to  be  struggling  with  the  office,  and  it  was  fortu- 
nate for  the  accused  that  he  had  come  before  such  an  un- 
derstanding power.  If  looks  could  translate  thoughts,  an 
open  verdict  was  the  most  likely  one,  though  philoso- 
phy pointed  to  a  long  education  before  there  could  be 
any  satisfying  result.  The  conversation  preceding  the 
judgment  threw  a  considerable  light  on  the  sentiments 
both  of  questioner  and  questioned.  The  former,  as 
was  his  wont,  touched  on  many  matters  which  might 
have  been  called  irrelevant,  but  which  plainly  showed 
that  nothing  short  of  getting  at  the  root  of  the  business 
would  content  him. 


72  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Would  you  kindly  inform  me  whether,  in  your  early 
youth,  the  inward  meaning  of  things  was  brought  before 
you,  or  whether  religion,  as  you  understood  it,  was  ob- 
served in  your  home?" 

"To  the  first  query  my  answer  is  not  at  all,  as  things 
went  very  smoothly,  and  I  can  recall  no  trouble  worth 
mentioning.  As  to  the  observance  of  religion,  we  car- 
ried it  on  somehow,  on  the  principle  of  good  form,  but  all 
emotion  on  the  subject  was  absent  and  it  was  supposed 
to  be  managed  by  the  parson,  or  included  in  the  school 
fees." 

"Did  your  parents  never  appear  sad,  or  did  they  never 
speak  to  you  of  prayer  or  details  of  that  kind?  " 

"Heavens,  no!  I  don't  fancy  they  saw  too  much  of 
each  other,  as  my  father  was  generally  out  and  my 
mother  was  extremely  reserved,  so  she  might  have  gone 
through  a  good  deal  without  our  knowing  it." 

"And  your  education?  " 

"I  went  to  the  best  school,  all  right,  and  had  a  ripping 
time,  but  of  course  I  never  got  to  the  Sixth,  or  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"Did  the  masters  show  much  interest  in  your  de- 
velopment?" 

"They  would  not  have  taken  such  liberties  or  been 
so  familiar.  They  were  good  old  sorts,  though,  and 
played  up  well  when  a  fellow  got  into  a  hat.  At  all 
events,  they  brought  us  up  never  to  tell  a  lie,  and  always 
to  play  with  a  straight  bat." 

"Did  you  often  get  into  what  you  call  'hats'  at  school?" 

"Any  amount,  besides  those  which  ought  to   have 


THE  PHILISTINE  73 

been  worn  by  some  of  the  other  boys,  but  then  they 
were  not  particularly  strong  and  would  easily  have  gone 
under." 

"What  did  you  learn?" 

"Well,  we  didn't  exactly  go  there  to  learn,  but  when 
it  came  to  the  exams,  we  put  on  a  spurt  and  now  and 
then  one  did  rather  well  at  a  pinch." 

"Have  you  remembered  anything?" 

"I  doubt  if  I  have,  but  all  I  can  say  is  I'm  awfully 
grateful  for  the  place,  to  which  I  owe  a  bigger  debt  than 
I  could  put  on  paper,  and  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would 
not  say  a  word  against  what  I  look  back  to  with  tre- 
mendous respect.  I  was  rather  a  coward  just  now  not 
to  own  that  the  Head  treated  me  with  a  tenderness  I 
shall  never  forget,  and  that  he  has  been  my  secret  hero 
ever  since." 

"Were  you  deeply  affected  by  the  love  affairs  which 
came  to  you  in  due  course,  and  might  more  than  once 
have  proved  an  awakening?" 

"I  can't  say  I  was.  I  don't  suppose  either  of  us 
wanted  much,  and  the  girls  I  cared  for  were  of  the  same 
sort  as  myself,  while  the  others  did  not  count." 

"Did  none  of  them  leave  any  mark  on  your  char- 
acter?" 

"I  don't  think  they  did.  You  see,  we  never  took  that 
sort  of  thing  seriously.  We  cared  much  more  for  hunt- 
ing, and  we  were  not  a  bit  sentimental,  though,  of  course, 
flirting  had  its  place  in  our  amusements." 

"And  how  did  they  get  on  afterwards?" 

"Much  the  same,  I  fancy .    They  settled  down  all 


74  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

right  when  they  happened  on  a  fellow  with  money,  or, 
if  they  didn't,  no  one  heard  much  about  them." 

"And  when  it  came  to  marriage?" 

"I  took  it  in  the  natural  course  of  things,  though  it 
was  a  bit  trying  to  say  good-bye  to  my  bachelor  friends, 
but  they  told  me  I  should  soon  get  over  it." 

"Did  you  love  one  another?" 

"I  should  think  that  was  too  strong  a  term,  but  we 
were  first-class  pals,  and  both  of  us  read  the  same  style  of 
books,  which  always  ended  in  a  capital  show,  with  no 
end  of  bridesmaids  and  the  whole  thing  awfully  well 
done,  so  I  suppose  we  knew  it  would  have  to  come." 

"As  you  grew  older,  what  about  the  public  duties  to 
which  you  were  called  by  your  position?" 

"The  fact  is  I  rather  let  them  slide,  as  they  soon  be- 
came a  bore;  then  I  dropped  them  altogether,  persuading 
myself  that  this  side  could  best  be  managed  by  the  of- 
ficials." 

"Did  it  strike  you  that  your  body  was  getting  the 
upper  hand,  that  there  was  something  beyond,  and  that 
a  time  was  coming  when  you  would  have  to  face  the 
mystery  which  for  you  is  just  setting  in?" 

"Not  in  the  least,  really,  but  now  I  think  of  it,  I  did 
make  rather  a  point  of  comfort  as  to  baths  and  clothes 
and  food,  and  I  was  awfully  particular  as  to  associating 
with  anybody  sort  of  halfway.  As  to  death,  I  expected 
when  it  came  along  I  should  take  my  gruel  all  right 
and  stand  the  shot,  but  otherwise  I  cannot  say  it  weighed 
much  with  me." 

"Were  you  never  heartily  ashamed  as  you  looked  at 


THE  PHILISTINE  75 

the  pictures  of  your  ancestors  and  wondered  whether 
you  would  be  worthy  of  where  they  had  come?" 

"Hardly  ever,  though  possibly  I  used  to  dream  things 
like  that  in  a  comfortable  sort  of  way,  after  two  or  three 
nightcaps,  or  when  I  was  a  trifle  hipped,  but  I  was  all 
right  next  morning." 

"And  as  for  this  country,  this  world  of  yours,  this 
mass  of  men  and  women  under  the  harrow  in  big  cities, 
or  the  cruelty  and  lust  you  must  have  witnessed  in 
your  journeys  abroad  —  did  these  things  never  cause 
your  heart  to  ache?" 

"I  can't  say  they  did.  Don't  you  see  if  I  had  allowed 
what  you  call  sympathy  to  come  into  my  life,  on  a  large 
scale,  I  should  have  had  to  become  quite  another  sort 
of  chap.  All  my  arrangements  would  have  been  up- 
set, and,  worst  of  all,  I  should  have  been  considered 
half  a  lunatic  or  a  ranter,  which  is  too  dreadful  to  con- 
template. Besides,  to  be  candid,  all  this  went  like 
water  off  a  duck's  back,  though,  politically,  I  realised, 
now  and  again,  that  things  were  getting  a  little  warm, 
but,  so  long  as  they  lasted  out  my  time,  I  couldn't  see 
how  it  mattered." 

The  Judge  looked  almost  hopeless,  yet  he  regarded 
the  accused  with  wistful  affection,  for  he  had  had  great 
possessions.  "  I  wish,  if  I  can,  to  point  out  to  you  what 
I  know  you  entirely  appreciate,  in  spite  of  anything 
you  may  say  to  the  contrary.  I  willingly  overlook 
the  clothes,  the  baths,  the  dinners,  the  eternal  round 
of  self-pleasing,  but  your  insensibility  in  regard  to  the 
universal  pain  angers  me  by  its  shallowness  and  its 


76  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

hardness  of  heart.  Who  knows  better  than  myself  how 
richly  endowed  you  were  when  you  came  into  the  world? 
Who  understands  better  the  responsibility  of  birth,  tra- 
dition, and  all  that  goes  to  make  good  breeding,  with 
hardly  any  trouble  on  the  part  of  the  recipient?  Who 
could  hold  in  higher  esteem  the  delightful  absence  of 
caste  and  class  which  distinguished  you,  and  which  is 
the  hall-mark  of  the  gentle?  Who  can  better  estimate 
the  advantage  of  good  health,  and  still  more,  of  good 
spirits,  which  if  rightly  used  might  have  acted  like  magic 
among  the  sick,  the  tired,  the  unfortunate,  and  the  lonely? 

"To  my  thinking  you  have  missed  immense  oppor- 
tunities, and  the  pity  of  it  is  that  you  could  not  see  it, 
though,  if  you  had,  you  would  have  been  the  first  to 
volunteer  for  the  forlorn  hope  which  was  calling  out 
for  your  qualities.  Man  was  never  intended  to  be 
satisfied  with  a  purely  carnal  life,  however  perfect  the 
setting!  It  has  to  be  borne  in  on  you  that  strength  is  a 
loan,  that  easy  circumstances  may  soon  prove  the  ruin 
of  a  man's  best,  and  that  that  brain  of  yours,  which  is 
not  half  so  poor  a  one  as  you  allege,  was  meant  to  tackle 
problems  in  the  solving  of  which  each  citizen  should 
take  his  share.  The  truth,  in  brief,  which  you  must 
absorb,  is  that  the  object  of  your  creation  was  not  to 
bask,  but  to  bless  through  that  unused  heart  given  you 
in  order  to  warm  the  world. 

"You  will  therefore  leave  this  place  judged  by  your- 
self and  no  one  else,  and  though  the  vision  will  come  to 
you  sooner  than  to  most,  you  must  learn  through  tribu- 
lation what  it  is  to  love.  Some  day,  when  you  have 


THE  PHILISTINE  77 

come  to  care,  it  will  grow  clear  to  you  that  your  kingdom 
consists  of  more  than  eating  and  drinking  or  satisfying 
your  inclinations,  with  a  certain  amount  of  kindness 
thrown  in.  Otherwise  you  would  become  a  fossil.  You 
will  then  discover  that  the  sin  of  having  accomplished 
nothing  may  be  worse  than  active  evil  commingled 
with  good,  and  you  will  look  back  with  contempt  on 
a  period  of  self-pleasing  which  cannot  be  condoned 
by  mannerisms  or  fine  phrases.  You  will  understand  by 
degrees  that  your  talk  of  patriotism  was  vitiated 
by  your  indolence,  and  that  devotion  to  your  country 
carries  with  it  a  great  deal  more  than  willingness  to 
share  in  a  scrap.  For  this  and  sundry  other  exhibitions 
you  have  already  been  rewarded  by  medals  and  deified 
by  sentimental  women. 

"You  must  go  back  to  those  high  ideals  implanted  in 
you  by  your  mother,  whose  aloneness  was  due  to  the 
same  sort  of  character  in  your  father  as  you  have  de- 
scribed in  yourself.  If  you  had  only  known  it,  she  often 
prayed  for  you  in  her  silence,  and  longed  for  you  to 
develop  into  something  worth  while.  True  enough  that 
the  masters  at  your  school  seldom,  if  ever,  in  a  place  re- 
served for  the  so-called  fortunate,  touched  on  such  themes, 
but  when  you  know  what  it  is  to  bend  your  back  to 
honest  work,  and  when  you  have  discovered  that  noth- 
ing was  ever  accomplished  without  pains,  you  will  envy 
the  labourers  who  furnish  an  example  of  days  spent 
in  toil  followed  by  well-earned  repose.  You  need  to 
get  hold  of  the  injury  done  to  the  young,  which  appar- 
ently has  never  entered  into  your  mind.  You  can  have 


78  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

no  conception  of  the  boys  or  of  the  young  men  who  were 
copying  you  throughout  your  career,  a  habit  which 
obtains  in  proportion  to  lack  of  brains  or  of  necessity. 
Your  very  tailor  was  a  temptation,  and  your  casualness 
repeated  itself  in  hundreds  who  are  now  worshipping 
the  same  style  and  emulating  the  same  ease  afforded 
by  your  example.  Doubtless  your  own  failure  was 
modelled  on  a  similar  type,  but  when  the  pattern  is 
both  wrong  and  attractive,  no  one  can  compute  the 
misfits  which  follow.  You  are  too  generous  not  to  be 
cut  to  the  quick  by  such  reflections,  and  you  would  be  the 
first,  if  the  opportunity  offered,  to  correct  such  an  error. 

"You  have  no  reason,  in  spite  of  a  revelation  which 
opens  up  to  you  a  novel  view  of  existence,  to  fall  into 
the  other  extreme  of  despondency.  You  possess  more 
than  ordinarily  good  material,  and  I  am  sanguine  that 
you  will,  to  use  your  own  expression,  '  take  your  gruel, ' 
nor  rest  until,  in  place  of  a  materialist,  you  become 
even  a  spiritual  force  which,  without  a  vestige  of  'rant- 
ing, '  shall  help  instead  of  hindering  the  '  other  fellows, ' 
to  your  common  good.  Go,  then,  and  make  your  own 
arrangements,  as  befits  your  manliness,  and  act  out 
those  dreams  in  which  you  indulged  when  you  were 
rather  hipped,  or  tricked  by  alcohol  into  seeing  visions 
of  what  you  might  become.  The  prayers  of  that  mis- 
understood, taken-for-granted,  and  neglected  mother  shall 
be  answered  in  the  fulness  of  time,  and  with  the  'Head' 
she  will  rejoice  over  her  boy  on  his  return  from  the  far- 
off  country.  No  one  will  do  better  work  or  take  it  out 
of  himself  more  when  he  gets  back  to  the  old  farm." 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY 

SHE  looked  dog  tired  and  glad  to  have  found  at 
last  any  sort  of  place  where  there  was  peace, 
though  it  was  one  of  punishment.  The  only 
thing  she  appeared  to  want  was  to  be  done  with  it  all  and 
to  get  it  over,  being  best  described  as  a  bird  which  had 
spoilt  its  plumage  by  beating  against  the  bars  and  now 
lay  exhausted  at  the  bottom  of  the  cage.  Her  face, 
badly  marred,  had  once  been  beautiful,  and  her  previous 
charm  was  apparent  as  she  impulsively  stood  up  and 
jerked  out  her  words  with  nervous  hesitation  combined 
with  a  half  defiance,  betokening  the  final  struggle  be- 
fore she  yielded.  The  tricks  of  her  trade  revealed  them- 
selves in  the  smallest  action,  telling  of  a  type  which,  from 
Aspasia  to  the  street-walker,  has  a  cachet  common  to  all. 
Her  origin  had  always  been  more  or  less  of  a  mystery, 
and  so  accustomed  had  she  become  to  romancing  about 
it,  to  suit  the  occasion,  that  any  trustworthy  evidence 
had  long  been  lost  in  a  mist  of  lies.  By  turns  she  had 
been  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman,  of  an  honest  farmer, 
or  of  a  peer  conspicuous  for  gallantry,  and  more  than 
once  she  had  scored  by  claiming  the  protection  granted 
to  an  innocent  but  illegitimate  girl.  Probably  the  truth 

79 


8o  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

was  that  she  belonged  to  a  large  class  which  combines 
a  certain  amount  of  money  with  still  more  vulgarity, 
but  there  was  a  streak  of  refinement  in  her  of  which 
she  was  conscious,  due  to  previous  irregularities.  On 
this  point  she  was  not  pressed  by  the  Judge,  who 
made  it  a  rule  to  admit  no  reference  to  the  detriment 
of  an  absentee,  having  no  use  for  the  third  party.  Her 
attitude  was  that  of  a  woman  for  whom  nothing  mat- 
tered, being  less  pugnacious  than  beaten,  and  it  was  dif- 
ficult, having  once  seen  it,  to  forget  the  melancholy  and 
glazed  look  in  her  eyes.  It  was  a  relief  to  find  herself 
alone,  where  there  were  no  chivying,  no  bestial  language, 
and  none  of  that  confusion  to  which  she  had  of  late  been 
accustomed. 

Yet  the  very  silence  was  a  torture  to  her,  as  though 
she  loathed  the  solitude  for  which  she  craved,  and  any- 
thing more  pitiable  than  the  moral  wreck  she  presented 
it  would  be  hard  to  imagine.  The  word  desolation  con- 
veyed the  most  vivid  picture  of  her  expression,  the  soul 
having  fled  away,  without  the  solace  of  annihilation. 
Never  was  there  such  a  satire  on  her  name.  Any  halo 
there  might  have  been  had  long  disappeared,  and  the 
process  which  must  have  led  up  to  such  a  climax  became 
disgusting  and  repulsive.  What  the  blurting  out  of  the 
unvarnished  truth  meant  to  the  Daughter  of  Joy  only 
she  could  tell,  but  the  working  of  her  features  plainly 
showed  the  effect  of  this  interview  with  herself.  Dog- 
gedness  and  obstinacy  were  conspicuous.  She  displayed 
the  unfeeling  tyranny  which  had  encrusted  her  heart 
through  trading  on  human  weakness  and  taking  a  brutal 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  81 

advantage  of  situations.  Gradually  a  comparative  soft- 
ness, which  brought  hope  of  tears,  set  in  as  she  looked  at 
the  Judge,  though  as  yet  not  a  word  had  been  spoken. 

"I  should  like,"  she  said,  in  her  restless  way,  as  one 
who  is  always  in  a  hurry  because  she  has  nothing  definite 
to  do,  "to  say  that  I  have  no  excuse,  and  that  the  blame 
belongs  to  no  one  else.  I  was  never  drugged  or  de- 
coyed, and  then  found  myself  unable  to  get  back,  or 
any  fairy  tales  of  that  kind.  From  the  beginning  I 
realised  what  I  was  doing  and  deliberately  chose  the 
vilest,  cruellest,  and  most  selfish  life  under  the  sun. 
Naturally,  at  the  start,  I  merely  pleased  myself,  without 
stopping  to  consider  the  wickedness  involved,  which, 
when  I  was  old  enough  to  understand  it,  had  not  the  least 
effect  on  me.  From  the  time  I  knew  anything,  my  in- 
stinct was  to  get  as  much  feeling  and  zest  into  my  days 
as  possible.  I  can  justify  myself  on  no  plea  except 
that  home  was  dull,  goodness  still  duller,  and  work 
most  repellent  of  all.  By  keeping  my  eyes  open,  it  came 
to  me  that  any  girl,  if  she  pleased,  might  ruin  men  and 
live  upon  them,  provided  the  bird  of  prey  was  suf- 
ficiently attractive.  I  watched  thousands  of  others  who 
avoided  all  restraint  and  who  seemed,  at  any  rate, 
to  be  having  a  rosy  time,  which  was  all  I  cared  about. 
Before  I  was  out  of  my  teens  this  idea  got  hold  of  me,  and 
my  motto  was  self  first,  and  the  devil  take  the  hinder- 
most.  He  has  taken  them,  too. 

"I  can  see  now  that  I  broke  my  mother's  heart, 
brought  shame  on  all  belonging  to  me,  and  began  my 
career  by  laughing  in  the  face  of  God.  The  books  which 


82  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

say  that  this  happens  through  a  girl  being  betrayed  and 
then  taking  her  revenge  may  be  partially  correct  but 
are  much  overdrawn,  and  in  my  case  it  was  not  the  true 
story.  It  may  be  so  in  countless  instances,  but  my  firm 
conviction  is  that  the  person  who  wrote  the  story  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden  was  not  far  out.  Certainly,  for  the  most 
part,  women  do  the  tempting,  at  least  in  man's  first  down- 
fall, though,  thank  Heaven,  this  applies  to  the  Eves  and  not 
to  the  Maries  of  the  world.  It  doesn't  always  hold  good, 
though,  for  there  are  lots  of  men  who  are  women,  and 
women  who  are  men,  which  may  sound  strange,  but  they 
got  into  the  wrong  bodies.  The  taint  was  in  my  blood, 
nor  did  I  pause  to  think  whether  it  was  impure  or  other- 
wise. That  side  never  struck  me;  I  was  out  for  my  own 
pleasure,  which,  to  an  extent,  I  got  —  at  the  price  of 
some  one  else's  pain.  Conceit,  vanity,  and  sloth  had 
been  my  chief  make-up  so  long  as  I  could  remember. 

"I  cannot  recall  taking  up  anything  seriously,  except 
with  a  view  to  producing  an  effect  on  the  rest  of  the 
family,  but  I  was  an  actress  from  the  time  I  began  to 
talk.  I  detested  effort,  especially  any  form  of  educa- 
tion, and,  if  conscience  stirred  in  its  sleep,  I  silenced  it 
with  bad  company,  worse  plays,  and  still  more  degraded 
literature,  though  as  yet  I  had  not  crossed  the  border- 
line. One  thing  stands  out,  namely,  that  I  never  could 
abide  staying  at  home  or  being  by  myself,  and  long 
before  I  had  lost  my  innocence,  I  was  mentally  a  prey 
to  movement,  fine  clothes,  and  excitement.  When  I 
was  at  school,  I  used  to  get  the  other  girls  under  my 
thumb  and  deceive  the  mistress  by  pretending  to  depths 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  83 

which  none  but  she  could  sound.  When  I  flirted  with 
boys,  I  was  never  touched,  but  I  liked  to  make  them 
miss  me  and  send  me  messages  which  I  might  bring 
up  against  them. 

"After  the  first  step,  I  set  myself,  by  every  art  I  pos- 
sessed, to  drag  men  down,  and  found  a  special  fillip  in 
the  case  of  the  good  though  erotic,  making  them  fancy 
that  love  could  be  bought  and  that  my  endearments 
were  genuine.  They  proved  a  simple  affair,  the  temp- 
tation to  them  being  tenfold  stronger  than  to  the  aban- 
doned woman,  and  what  for  them  constituted  a  terrific 
brain  storm  was  for  me  a  matter  of  routine.  There 
were  hundreds  who  began  by  sincerely  desiring  to  save 
me,  and  whom  I  deliberately  seduced  in  their  attempt, 
which  brings  up  some  of  my  most  painful  memories, 
but  I  am  bound  to  add  that  the  nicest  men  are  awfully 
weak  towards  our  class,  being  kind  to  us  out  of  all  pro- 
portion. It  is  this  weakness  which  is  our  chief  stock 
in  trade.  In  reality,  save  in  these  cases,  I  was  unmoved, 
nor  did  I  care  a  fig  so  long  as  I  provoked  passions  and 
secured  my  reward.  How  I  could  have  done  what  I 
did  fairly  puzzles  me,  but  it  is  impossible  here  to  deny 
facts,  or  to  pretend  that  I  was  not  one  of  the  worst 
enemies  of  mankind. 

"I  spoiled  the  legitimate  happiness  of  good  women 
whom  at  the  same  moment  I  hated  and  envied,  lower- 
ing my  sex  in  their  eyes  until  they  were  ashamed  of 
belonging  to  it.  The  thought  of  my  mother,  especially 
after  her  death,  stung  me  into  a  remorse  that  drove  me 
well-nigh  mad,  I  was  haunted  by  the  faces  of  young 


84  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

men,  hardly  more  than  boys,  who,  through  my  devilish 
treachery,  had  forfeited  their  honour  and  their  health 
so  that  they  could  not  look  into  the  eyes  of  their  sis- 
ters, or  of  their  intended  brides.  This  sounds  too  horri- 
ble, even  for  a  confession,  but  the  game  goes  on,  and 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  men,  as  well  as  women, 
are  being  ruined  every  night,  to  the  tune  of  the  gayest 
music  and  the  scent  of  the  sweetest  flowers. 

"Well  do  I  remember  the  jewels  heaped  upon  me  by 
these  worse  than  fools  so  long  as  my  beauty  lasted, 
though,  as  it  waned,  I  fell  lower  and  lower.  Yet  my 
instincts  remained  the  same,  and  were  even  intensified, 
namely,  to  secure  the  maximum  of  sensation  with  the 
minimum  of  effort,  at  the  expense  of  any  one  who  was 
willing  to  foot  the  bill.  When  I  had  lost  my  looks  and 
was  hungry  I  learned  the  cruel  side  of  men,  for  they 
treated  me  as  dirt,  or  recommended  the  workhouse, 
because  I  could  no  longer  please.  As  to  physical  fear, 
it  had  ceased  to  affect  me,  since  I  had  got  to  look  on 
life  much  as  a  hardened  gambler  does  on  the  tables, 
where  all  have  equal  chances,  where  the  risks  add  to 
the  charm,  and  where  the  bank  is  bound  to  win  in  the 
long  run.  Anything  aboveboard  or  lawful  became  in- 
sipid, and  I  accuse  myself  of  having  done  my  best  to 
help  forward  the  kingdom  of  evil  and  prevent  that  of 
good. 

"In  one  respect,  at  all  events,  I  got  full  payment:  I 
lost  the  power  of  loving,  forfeited  the  joy  of  giving  one 
honest  kiss,  though  I  received  many,  and  banished  for- 
ever the  vision  of  home  and  motherhood.  I  stand 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  85 

here,  ruined,  degraded,  and  the  wretchedest  of  women, 
had  I  not  become  so  numbed  that  I  hardly  feel  at  all. 
The  sense  of  shame  is  setting  in,  and  with  it  the  taste  of 
a  hell  to  which  I  would  not  consign  my  worst  enemy.  I 
only  ask  to  be  dealt  with  quickly  so  that  I  may  live 
again  in  working  out  the  punishment  I  crave  for,  which 
I  have  brought  upon  myself." 

The  prisoner's  advocate  was  deeply  moved,  and  with 
unconcealed  emotion  addressed  the  Judge.  He  felt  the 
far-reaching  character  of  the  tale  that  had  been  told, 
and  the  truth  that,  as  woman  can  rise  to  higher  heights, 
she  can  fall  to  lower  depths  than  man.  The  awful  fact 
of  the  liberty  of  free  will  was  forcibly  brought  home  to 
him.  In  this  special  connection  he  understood  how 
powerless  was  any  appeal  in  face  of  the  cruelty  of  pros- 
titution practised  on  business  principles  and  in  defiance 
of  conscience.  Yet  he  held  his  head  high,  like  a  man 
engaged  in  a  crusade  on  behalf  of  weakness,  and  of  a 
type  regarding  whom,  being  a  person  of  refinement, 
he  found  it  difficult  to  decide  whether  it  had  most  sinned 
or  been  sinned  against  in  the  transaction.  He  did  not 
disguise  from  himself  the  gravity  of  the  sex  question, 
or  that  he  was  getting  into  close  grips  with  undoubtedly 
the  strongest  of  the  forces,  which,  at  a  certain  period, 
move  humanity. 

"In  spite  of  the  prisoner's  confession,  and  of  the  untold 
harm  which  I  cannot  conceal  from  myself  that  she  has 
done,  I  rise,  my  Lord,  to  claim  your  pity.  It  will  not 
surprise  you  to  hear  that  there  is  another  side  which  she 
has  either  forgotten  or  taken  for  granted,  but  which, 


86  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

none  the  less,  qualifies  her  degradation.  I  can  tell  you  of 
acts  of  kindness,  and  even  tenderness,  on  the  part  of 
the  accused  rarely  found  among  the  virtuous.  Times 
without  number  I  have  witnessed  the  sharing  of  her  last 
meal  with  a  still  poorer  sister,  and  I  can  think  of  her 
sitting  up  ten  nights  without  intermission  with  a  dying 
man  whom  all  neglected  and  who  was  an  entire  stranger 
to  her.  A  rich  man  with  whom  she  lived  offered  her 
marriage  three  times,  but  she  refused  because  she  would 
not  spoil  his  chances  and  because  she  said  it  was  not 
cricket.  Some  redeeming  features  there  must  have  been 
when  he  implored  her  to  be  his  wife,  though  twice,  in  a 
fit  of  drunkenness,  she  had  nearly  brought  about  his 
death,  and  more  than  once  had  treated  him  with  every 
indignity. 

"Again,  my  Lord,  I  can  see  her  risking  her  life,  during 
an  epidemic,  and  nursing  children  so  covered  with  con- 
fluent smallpox  that  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  would 
have  fled,  and  kissing  them,  too,  with  an  abandonment 
well-nigh  divine.  I  have  heard  her  offer  to  defend  her 
mother's  name  with  her  life,  if  it  was  disparaged  in  the 
smallest  particular.  I  could  recount  how,  again  and 
again,  the  prisoner,  in  fits  of  reaction,  haunted  churches, 
knelt  before  altars,  made  resolves,  and  was  on  the  verge 
of  becoming  penitent,  but  the  seven  devils  took  posses- 
sion of  her  once  more  and  she  became  as  desperate  as 
ever.  It  is  not  for  me  to  suggest  how  different  her  story 
might  have  been  if  her  instincts  had  been  earlier  com- 
bated, and  if,  in  her  youth,  she  had  known  honourable 
love. 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  87 

"Your  Lordship  is  aware  how  poor  a  brief  I  hold,  but, 
though  I  cannot  prove  it,  I  still  assert  that  the  heart  of 
this  woman  had  particles  of  good  and  that  she  was  cap- 
able of  exceptional  heroism  in  any  work  of  rescue.  Noth- 
ing can  help  her  short  of  a  great  trust  born  of  a  great 
charity,  which,  through  the  darkest  night,  can  discern 
the  coming  of  a  brighter  day  for  her  and  her  sorrowful 
sisterhood.  Such  a  sympathy  is  impossible  to  any  save 
yourself,  for  it  demands  a  holiness  of  which  few  are  capa- 
ble, and  which,  in  itself,  among  ordinary  men,  precludes 
the  experience  requisite  to  measure  the  difficulties  of  the 
prisoner.  I  can  at  least  urge  that  she  has  given  no  hint 
that  she  was  virtually  driven  from  home,  where  she 
might  have  had  every  comfort,  but  where  she  felt  she 
was  not  wanted,  which  was  the  prime  cause  of  the  deba- 
cle that  followed.  Then  it  was  that  the  demon  entered 
into  her  and,  tortured  by  a  treadmill  to  her  unendur- 
able, she  became  a  temptress  and  a  pest  to  society, 
sooner  than  find  no  vent  for  an  individuality  which 
would  not  be  denied.  The  grief  she  has  endured,  which 
she  accepts  without  a  murmur,  pleads  for  her  more 
eloquently  than  any  words  of  mine. 

"In  view  of  the  consummate  folly  of  her  choice,  and 
her  persistent  refusal  of  appeal  after  appeal  to  her  own 
interests,  I  can  only  regard  her  as  morally  insane,  and 
ask  you  to  treat  her  as  one  bereft  of  reason.  That  she 
was  bad  as  well  as  mad,  and  that  she  became  cruel  as  the 
grave,  no  one  can  gainsay,  but  I  entreat  your  pity  for  her 
because  I  am  more  conscious  even  than  she  of  her  dualism, 
and  that,  if  this  torrent  of  recklessness  could  be  diverted, 


88  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

it  might  be  used  as  power  to  light  those  who  sit  in  dark- 
ness and  in  a  similar  shadow  of  death.  More  I  cannot 
add,  lest  I  should  appear  to  palliate  this  worst  of  wrongs, 
or  by  a  single  syllable  furnish  an  excuse  for  such  a  career. 
I  am  confident  that,  taking  into  account  the  handicap 
afforded  by  her  distorted  nature,  in  the  sentence  to  be 
pronounced  mercy  and  truth  will  meet  together." 

The  Judge  was  troubled  beyond  measure  and,  as  was 
his  custom,  conversed  with  the  prisoner  for  a  while  be- 
fore arriving  at  his  decision,  treating  her  as  he  would 
have  done  any  other  lady.  When  he  asked  her  the  cause 
of  her  leaving  home,  she  still  refused  to  say  one  word 
against  her  mother,  but  maintained  that  it  was  just  a 
whim  of  her  own,  because  she  wanted  to  see  the  world 
and  drain  the  cup  of  life  to  the  dregs. 

When  the  Judge  enquired  if  she  considered  her  trade 
a  necessity,  quoting  the  opinion  of  several  writers  of  re- 
pute that  it  was  the  oldest  in  the  world  and  could  not  be 
stamped  out,  she  answered  that  she  had  never  studied  the 
subject.  In  her  own  case  and,  she  believed,  in  that  of 
every  woman  in  her  country,  whatever  the  conscience 
elsewhere,  each  wilfully  violated  what  she  knew  to  be 
the  highest  law  of  her  being,  nor  did  she  wish  to  escape 
by  the  back  door  of  such  a  pretext. 

On  his  referring  to  the  economic  conditions  which  were 
by  many  held  responsible,  seeing  that  fear  of  starvation 
is  calculated  to  drive  its  victim  to  any  lengths,  the 
Daughter  of  Joy  owned  that  in  many  instances  it  might 
be  so,  and  that  it  was  a  crying  shame.  She  herself 
would  rather  have  starved  than  have  yielded,  save  for 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  89 

an  inborn  tendency  to  evil  and  to  adventure,  which  she 
could  not  attribute  to  necessity. 

To  the  suggestion  made,  with  singular  respect,  by  the 
Judge,  that,  having  once  gone  under,  she  was  irretriev- 
ably ruined,  the  prisoner  retorted  that  again  and  again 
she  might  have  pulled  up  if  she  had  wished,  that  hun- 
dreds of  hands  were  outstretched  to  save  her,  and  that 
harbours  of  refuge  abounded  on  every  side.  She  went 
so  far  as  to  say  that,  after  the  worst  collapses,  she  had 
heard  most  clearly  the  voices  of  the  angels  and  had 
caught  the  rustle  of  their  wings. 

The  Judge  desired  to  know  how  she  reconciled  her 
fiendish  cruelty  towards  men,  more  especially  to  the 
young,  with  her  care  for  the  sick,  her  sympathy  with 
the  starving,  and  her  recklessness  in  risking  her  life,  to 
which  her  only  reply  was  that  she  took  a  devilish  pleas- 
ure in  the  former,  while  (illogically)  she  supposed  that 
no  woman  could  have  done  other  than  she  did  in  the 
latter  case,  and  that  there  was  nothing  in  it. 

When,  lastly,  he  asked  the  prisoner  if  she  ever  re- 
gretted the  loss  of  her  innocence,  the  miss  of  a  child, 
the  pleasure  of  a  garden,  the  sparkle  of  the  sea,  or  the 
shining  of  the  stars,  she  broke  down.  Over  her  face 
came  a  look  from  the  past  which  showed  that  she  loved 
all  these  things  in  common  with  the  best  and  that, 
through  the  recalling  of  them,  a  faint  desire  was  born 
to  return  and  be  good. 

The  Judge  summed  up  in  terms  which  betrayed  his 
commiseration : 

"Neither  do  I  condemn  you,"  he  said,  "seeing  that 


90  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

no  one  who  has  ever  been  a  man  can  cast  a  stone.  You 
need  no  reminding  how  much  you  have  suffered  or  how 
much  you  have  lost.  I  respect  you,  also,  for  not  pos- 
ing as  a  martyr,  while  your  silence  concerning  others 
points  to  the  regaining  of  qualities  you  have  done  your 
best  to  destroy.  The  misery  caused  by  the  desecration 
of  your  womanhood  must  ever  remain  and,  tenderly 
as  my  heart  goes  out  to  your  need,  no  sentence  of  mine 
can  absolve  you  from  that  process  of  cleansing  for  which, 
despite  your  protestations,  I  know  that  you  yearn.  To 
have  used  outpourings  of  love,  written  in  good  faith, 
to  the  stabbing  of  another,  is  an  act  which  the  best, 
even  in  your  profession,  would  utterly  despise.  Sudden, 
sustained  goodness  after  such  sinning  can  never  be,  how- 
ever much  pity  may  be  inclined  to  point  out  an  easier 
way.  It  might  be  alleged  that  you  have  already  had 
your  hell  and  have  paid  the  penalty  for  the  injury  you 
have  done,  but  the  evil  lies  deeper,  and  this  Court  is 
not  concerned  with  rewards  or  punishments,  as  is  often 
misstated  by  those  who  claim  to  know  its  secrets. 

"You  never  can  and  never  will  be  happy  until  you 
have  regained  your  sex,  but,  to  this  end,  you  must 
learn  that  your  brain  and  your  soul  are  vastly  more 
important  than  your  flesh.  This  is  the  root  of  the  error 
which  has  ruined  your  character,  apart  from  the  special 
department  of  evil  in  which  you  have  been  employed. 
According  to  your  own  confession,  you  have  consistently 
avoided  the  slightest  suspicion  of  work,  therefore  you 
will  be  taught  its  true  value  and  —  for  you  a  harder 
task  —  you  will  be  compelled  to  think.  It  will  prove  a 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  JOY  91 

severer  struggle  than  the  nursing,  the  sharing,  and  the 
risk,  which  are  but  the  better  side  of  passion  itself. 
The  labour  that  lies  before  you  is  your  development  into 
an  intelligent  being;  it  will  follow  that  you  become  a  self- 
respecting  one.  You  will  hate  it  beyond  imagining; 
your  old  emotions,  not  yet  under  complete  control,  will 
drive  you  to  rebel  against  restraint,  and  the  path  of 
penance  will  seem  too  narrow  for  your  wayward  feet. 
Sights  and  sounds  of  former  days  will  return  to  you  in 
your  dreams.  You  will  crave  for  the  God  you  have 
insulted,  and  thirst  for  the  vision  of  chastity  as  for  water 
in  the  desert. 

"I  could  not,  if  I  wished,  save  you  from  the  haunt- 
ings  of  memory,  but,  in  proportion  as  you  persevere, 
they  will  fade  away  and  your  indeterminate  sentence 
be  shortened.  You  will  remain  in  a  prison  of  my  selec- 
tion until  you  have  been  purified,  and  have  fitted  your- 
self to  atone  not  so  much  for  your  vileness  as  for  your 
lack  of  love.  No  consolation  on  my  part  can  lessen 
the  agony  of  at  last  knowing  yourself  in  your  true  colours, 
but  even  this  shall  have  an  end,  and  the  scarlet  shall 
become  white  as  snow.  Of  one  thing  be  certain,  that 
the  best  in  you,  however  hidden,  shall  emerge,  and  that 
the  flashes  of  good  which  illuminated  the  blackness  of 
your  sky  shall  become  a  permanent  glow. 

"Therefore,  be  comforted  and  leave  this  Court  for 
your  retreat,  confident,  as  I  am,  that  those  seven  devils 
shall  be  duly  exorcised.  To  rule  and  to  dare  is  too 
much  part  of  your  identity  to  disappear,  and  you  shall 
become  the  slave  of  a  new  unrest  to  save  the  tempted 


92  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

at  the  risk  of  a  character  now  restored.  You  shall  use 
your  wiles  to  catch  others  by  guile,  but  no  longer  for 
your  own  delectation,  and  you  shall  dominate,  not  by 
fascination,  but  by  humility.  Your  changed  atmosphere 
shall  declare  that  the  wisdom  from  above  is  first  pure, 
and  if  asked  your  reason,  your  face  shall  be  sufficient 
argument.  When  you  see,  as  you  shall,  the  cup  of 
so-called  life  being  drained  to  the  dregs,  your  mere  look 
will  cause  many  to  hesitate,  though  by  others  you  shall 
be  hooted  for  the  thing  you  were.  The  value  of  your 
recklessness  shall  be  shown,  and  you  shall  mind  nothing 
so  long  as  the  stolen  evidence  of  passionate  but  genuine 
devotion  may  be  burnt  in  a  fire  of  your  own  kindling. 
Courage,  my  child,  and  when  your  hour  is  come,  seven 
angels  shall  take  the  place  of  those  seven  devils  and 
waft  you  to  the  abode  of  Perfect  Love,  where  your 
transformed  passions  shall  be  expressed,  not  in  sin,  but 
in  submission.  The  Daughter  of  Joy  shall  yet  sing  as 
in  the  days  of  her  youth,  and  shall  be  known  as  one 
who  lives  not  to  blight  but  to  bestow  it." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  AGITATOR 

HIS  appearance  was  the  reverse  of  prepossessing, 
but  he  aroused  a  keen  interest  in  view  of  the 
vastness  of  the  mischief  for  which  he  stood,  as 
also  of  the  wrong  he  would  have  claimed  it  was  his  role 
to  rectify.  The  most  striking  features  about  the  Agi- 
tator were  his  conceit  and  his  masterfulness,  which  were 
not  surprising  as  he  could  never  have  attained  his  posi- 
tion without  them.  The  absence  of  the  pathos  which 
might  have  been  looked  for  and  his  gaiety  under  the 
circumstances  created  unalloyed  disgust.  He  was  moved 
more  by  pride  than  by  pity,  and  in  this  separator  of 
friends  was  a  faint  picture  of  the  force  which  works  for 
the  division  of  mankind.  The  worst  of  it  was  there  was 
so  much  to  go  on,  but  none  the  less  did  his  trade,  for  it 
was  a  trade,  appear  abhorrent  while  he  sat  there  as  though 
the  world  belonged  to  him,  and  he  had  but  to  say  the 
word  to  affect  the  destinies  of  thousands. 

That  he  could  be  put  on  his  trial  at  all  was  for  him 
an  absurdity,  and  the  curl  of  his  lip  told  of  unmitigated 
scorn.  Gradually  be  became  influenced  by  his  sur- 
roundings, and  began  to  show  a  hesitation  and  an  un- 
certainty in  himself  which  were  the  prelude  to  novel 

93 


94  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

concessions.  His  undeniable  fearlessness  called  forth 
something  akin  to  admiration  as  he  began  his  confession 
with  the  air  of  one  who  meant  to  have  it  out  fair  and 
square,  Judge  or  no  Judge,  so  long  as  he  might  express 
his  overweening  impudence. 

"Had  I  been  consulted,"  he  said,  "I  should  not  have 
come  here,  for  it  is  my  rule  never  to  climb  down,  lest 
I  should  cease  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  crowds  who 
hang  on  my  lips.  There  is,  however,  something  about 
this  place  that  threatens  to  bring  me  off  my  perch, 
which  would  be  impossible  if  any  one  else  were  present. 
My  contention  is  that  I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty  by 
those  whose  cause  I  represented,  and  to  undo  some  of 
the  evils  arising  from  inequalities  and  thraldoms  which 
are  a  curse  among  human  beings,  and  which  I  cannot 
believe  you  yourself  approve.  Originally  I  was  a  worker 
and  suffered  with  the  rest,  though  the  iron  had  already 
entered  into  my  soul.  When  I  was  a  kid  I  had  seen 
my  mother  go  without  bread,  and  the  little  ones  at  home 
fall  sick,  without  any  comfort  or  extra  nourishment. 
A  great  hatred  took  possession  of  me,  and  I  made  a 
vow  that,  should  I  live  to  become  a  man,  it  would  not 
be  my  fault  if  I  did  not  have  my  revenge. 

"Having  more  than  my  share  of  brains,  I  studied 
hard  in  my  leisure  moments,  practised  speaking  on 
every  possible  occasion,  and  took  a  delight  in  listening 
to  the  orators  who  came  among  us  and  inflamed  us 
with  their  words.  I  learned  my  trade  so  as  to  be  able 
to  talk  from  my  book,  and  never  lost  sight  of  my  object, 
nor  was  it  long  before  I  laid  down  my  tools  to  become 


THE  AGITATOR  95 

a  leader  of  my  fellows  against  their  oppressors.  Not 
that  I  was  lazy  or  that,  in  the  early  stages,  I  was  affected 
by  money,  but  as  my  sphere  grew  larger,  I  suppose  I 
was  lured  by  the  very  thing  I  was  combating,  and  talked 
so  much  and  so  often  of  having  been  a  working-man 
that  I  forgot  I  had  ceased  to  be  one.  The  whole  affair 
became  a  business  to  me,  and  I  defy  any  one  to  be  able 
to  move  the  masses  without  being  more  or  less  drunk 
with  domination,  the  only  liquor  strong  enough  for 
those  who  have  once  tasted  it.  In  my  rough  way  I 
believed  in  God,  but  He  was  more  political  than  paternal, 
and  so  insistent  was  I  on  the  word  Justice  that  it  eclipsed 
the  word  Love.  I  quoted  the  Gospel  galore,  or  rather 
those  bits  that  suited  me,  for  my  education  had  been 
a  prejudiced  one,  and  I  should  have  been  a  failure  had 
I  owned  to  the  reverse  of  the  shield.  The  fact  is  that 
party  spirit  was  as  strong  with  us  as  in  Parliament, 
and  a  leader  who  was  honest  enough  to  argue  all  round 
would  have  found  himself  between  two  stools,  and  have 
been  distrusted  by  both  sides. 

"This  was  not  my  game.  After  having  for  years 
advocated  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  of  the  worker,  I 
ceased  to  believe  such  a  thing  existed  as  that  of  the 
wealthy,  or  that  there  was  any  possible  plea  for  leisure. 
I  own  with  regret  that  the  influence  of  this  attitude  on 
myself  was  to  the  bad,  and  that  I  ended  a  much  less 
kind  man,  for,  though  I  was  death  on  drink  and  wor- 
shipped virtue,  strange  to  say  I  was  nearer  Heaven  when 
I  was  more  natural.  I  began  to  loathe  the  mention 
of  peace  and,  if  the  chances  of  a  strike  were  in  the  air, 


96  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

my  colleagues  (I  had  given  up  using  the  word  mates) 
and  I  met  together  to  devise  how  we  might  stir  up  strife, 
so  that  there  should  be  more  wigs  on  the  green,  and 
lest  we  should  lose  our  pay. 

"As  for  my  country,  it  might  go  to  hell  unless  possessed 
by  the  working  classes,  for  I  was  too  much  soaked  with 
every  story  bearing  on  revolution  to  care  a  curse  so  long 
as  the  red  flag  was  triumphant.  I  associated  only  with 
those  who  had  a  grievance,  till  it  became  a  positive 
pleasure  to  fan  it  into  a  flame,  though  who  should  put 
out  the  fire,  or  what  damage  might  ensue,  never  oc- 
curred to  me.  Governments  didn't  count,  kings  didn't 
count,  women  didn't  count,  children  didn't  count  if  only 
I  loomed  large  in  the  canvas,  and  I  remember  how  I 
gloated  over  the  speeches  made  at  gigantic  assemblies, 
but  I  read  only  my  own. 

"There  is  my  story  and  I  am  angry  still,  but  my  wrath 
was  less  personal  than  professional,  or  rather  it  was  so 
confused  with  my  own  advancement  that  it  is  difficult 
to  decide  whether  it  was  real  or  fictitious.  A  vein  of 
bluntness  in  me,  apart  from  compulsion,  prompts  me 
to  speak  out  and,  struck  by  the  kindness  of  your  face, 
I  am  bold  to  believe  that  you  will  not  condemn  me  whole- 
sale. Wherein  I  know  that  I  have  erred  is  that  my 
motives  were  not  unmixed,  but,  whatever  the  suffering 
involved,  I  cannot  take  back  a  word  in  regard  to  the 
horrors  to  which  I  have  referred.  If  you  would  help 
me  back  to  the  sanity  of  my  boyhood,  and  if  the  ex- 
ample of  my  punishment  would  restrain  those  who  follow 
me  from  forsaking  their  early  inspiration  to  do  battle, 


THE  AGITATOR  97 

within  legal  limits,  for  their  hearths  and  homes,  any 
price  which  I  might  have  to  pay  would  be  cheap.  I 
should  even  esteem  it  a  clear  gain  and  should  not  utter 
a  single  complaint." 

The  advocate,  who  was  more  or  less  inspired  by  the 
Agitator's  tone,  displayed  no  feelings  of  abhorrence, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  not  a  vestige  of  sentimentality. 
"I  cannot  conceal  from  myself,"  he  said,  "the  untold 
harm  of  which  the  accused  appears  to  be  guilty,  but  I 
use  the  term  appears,  seeing  that  the  fault  is  mainly 
due  to  an  upheaval  over  which  he  had  less  control  than 
he  imagined,  and  which  is  by  no  means  the  worst  feature 
in  the  world's  evolution.  No  one  will  be  readier  than 
your  Lordship  to  concede  that  the  chronic  pain  existing 
among  the  many  through  the  iniquitous  selfishness  of  the 
few  calls  for  channels  whereby  the  crowd  may  express  its 
collective  opinion  and  demand  common  justice.  This  man 
was  one  of  such  spokesmen,  and  I  speak  with  more  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  him  than  many  of  my  brother  advo- 
cates have  had  of  prisoners  who  were  better  placed. 

"He  saw,  and  with  good  reason,  that  the  salvation  of 
the  poor  rested  chiefly  with  themselves,  and  that,  if  they 
were  united  for  a  single  end,  they  could  do  much  to  bring 
about,  not  a  millennium,  but  at  least  a  division  of  goods 
more  becoming  amongst  the  children  of  a  common 
Father.  Like  many  others,  he  became  angered  that  a 
huge  proportion  of  the  race  should  labour  in  sweat  and 
grime  for  a  minority  who  lived  in  luxury  and  revelled  in 
self-pleasing  from  one  year's  end  to  another.  Your 
Lordship  will  therefore  discount  the  prisoner's  lack  of 


98  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

logic  in  that  he  failed  to  perceive  that  work  brings  its 
peculiar  reward,  and  self-indulgence  its  own  scourge.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  saw  only  the  outside,  and 
could  not  grasp  the  fact  that  poverty  with  contentment  is 
great  gain.  When  I  said  that  I  knew  him  well,  I  meant 
that  I  have  often  met  with  him  at  his  Chapel,  and  at 
times  when  he  was  so  distressed  by  the  issues  at  stake 
that  he  became  for  me  more  lovable  than  many  a  holier 
man  who  had  never  done  a  round  turn  for  the  oppressed. 
This  man  was  no  debauchee,  having  his  passions  under 
strong  control,  nor  did  he  do  this,  as  he  alleged,  only  to 
keep  his  place,  but  there  was  a  fund  of  religion  in  him  and 
his  mother  went  far  to  keep  him  pure.  This  was  how  he 
began,  and  then,  in  his  very  effort  to  keep  his  nature 
under  restraint,  he  became  impervious  to  the  groaning 
and  travailing  which  is  the  lot  of  all  creation,  and  which 
continues  up  till  now.  To  him  it  appeared  otherwise; 
this  groaning  and  travailing  was  sectional  and,  seeing 
it  mainly  in  his  mother  and  the  'kids'  (his  father  had 
been  fatally  injured  in  an  accident  when  drunk), he  lost  all 
sense  of  proportion  and  ran  the  risk  of  becoming  a  brute. 

"You  will,  I  am  certain,  make  allowances  for  the  con- 
sequent deterioration  which  was  fostered  by  the  lurid 
creed  of  his  childhood,  with  plenty  of  flames  and  sulphur 
thrown  in,  to  which  the  local  preacher  relegated  those 
who  fed  on  the  fat  of  the  land.  This  man,  my  Lord, 
would  have  been  altogether  different  if  he  had  had  a 
sweetheart,  but  he  denied  himself  in  order  to  see  his 
mother  through  and  to  bring  up  the  rest  of  the  family. 
I  hold  that,  granted  such  an  intention,  he  deserves  ample 


THE  AGITATOR  99 

consideration,  and  that  the  same  dangerous  fanaticism 
will  always  exist  so  long  as  those  who  have  been  nurtured 
in  the  gentler  ways  of  the  Gospel  keep  themselves  to 
themselves  and  meet  fine  enthusiasm  with  ill-disguised 
contempt.  The  prisoner  became  an  agitator  only  by 
degrees,  nor  would  he  have  deserved  the  title  in  the  earlier 
chapters  of  the  book.  Later  his  very  face  altered  and, 
when  the  temptation  of  power  assailed  his  ignorance,  he 
degenerated  beyond  recognition.  His  mother's  death 
put  the  seal  to  his  undoing,  until  her  son,  who  started  as 
the  saviour  of  his  house,  ended  as  what  I  frankly  own 
might  be  called  the  enemy  of  his  country.  There  came 
a  stage  when  he  was  irresponsible,  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  evil,  though  he  had  begun  by  earnest  prayer 
that  he  might  bring  a  blessing.  As  for  his  judgment,  I 
leave  it  to  your  Lordship,  being  unable  even  to  guess  at 
its  direction.  I  plead  for  the  real  man  beneath  its  dis- 
figurement, thankful  that  at  the  last  each  has  to  do  with 
a  mercy  which  is  not  only  sound,  but  which  has  for  its 
aim  the  re-instatement  of  every  human  being." 

The  Judge's  attention  had  not  wavered  during  the 
advocate's  speech,  and,  if  it  were  possible  to  charge  him 
with  variation  of  interest  in  the  cases,  that  of  the 
Agitator  would  not  have  ranked  lowest  in  the  scale. 
You  felt  instinctively  that  he  was  on  the  side  of  the  ma- 
jority, nor  could  you  help  calling  to  mind  the  story  of 
One  Who  was  born  in  a  stable,  of  a  mother  who  could 
afford  no  proofs  of  her  marriage.  He  regarded  the  pris- 
oner with  great  sorrow,  but  with  deep  respect,  for  there 
was  an  absence  of  trifling  or  indecision  about  him  that 


ioo  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

made  the  case  worth  while.  His  preliminary  questions 
were  marked  by  extreme  delicacy  and  forbearance  with 
one  who,  try  as  he  might,  could  only  see  men  as  trees 
walking,  and  even  they  were  limited  to  a  single  kind. 

"Tell  me,"  he  began,  "about  your  father.  Did  he 
suffer  much  after  the  accident,  or  did  he  pass  without 
any  great  pain?" 

The  Agitator  was  taken  aback,  and  suddenly  seemed  to 
be  once  more  in  the  miner's  cottage.  "Yes,  he  lingered 
a  bit,"  he  answered,  in  a  choked  voice,  "long  enough, 
thank  God,  to  return  to  the  kind  of  man  he  was  before  he 
took  to  the  drink,  and  to  trust  in  the  Old  Story,  but  how 
could  you  think  of  such  a  question?" 

"What  was  the  Old  Story  your  father  reverted  to?" 

"The  kindness  of  the  Saviour  who  died  for  all  and  was 
Himself  a  Socialist." 

"I  think  we  will  stop  at  the  first  part  of  the  sentence, 
which  is  more  than  enough  and  makes  all  equally  pre- 
cious." 

(Reluctantly)  "I  suppose  it  does." 

"Where  did  you  pick  up  your  education?  —  on  which  I 
congratulate  you,  since  knowledge  is  always  valuable  and 
it  is  fine  to  accomplish  good  work  with  poor  tools." 

"First  in  the  Night  School,  then  at  the  Public  Li- 
braries, where  I  could  select  the  books  I  wanted,  as  there 
was  no  great  run  on  them." 

"Would  you  say  that  these  libraries  were  entirely 
to  the  good?" 

"Not  as  you  put  it,  with  that  tone  in  your  voice,  but 
at  the  time  I  thought  so." 


THE  AGITATOR  101 

"It  seems  a  pity  that  you  did  not  read  some  of  the 
other  books,  of  which  there  were  plenty." 

"You  don't  mean  novels,  do  you?" 

"No,  I  don't  mean  only  novels,  though  many  of 
them  would  have  done  you  good.  Were  most  of  your 
fellow  workmen  happy?" 

"Quite  a  number,  but  then  they  were  not  ambitious 
chaps  and  they  seemed  content  with  the  village." 

"Should  you  say  they  were  wrong?" 

"Not  so  wrong  from  my  present  standpoint  as  I 
should  have  said  then." 

"Were  they  a  religious  type?" 

"Nearly  all  without  exception,  which  made  them  too 
soft  for  my  thinking  and  too  prone  to  accept  things  as 
they  were." 

"I  can  more  than  understand  your  feelings  in  this 
respect.  Were  you  a  happier  man  when  working  or 
when  speaking?  " 

"I  should  say  infinitely  more  when  at  my  job,  and  I 
wish  to  God  I  could  go  back  to  it." 

"Had  you  any  personal  animus  against  the  classes 
which  helped  to  make  you  the  firebrand  you  became?" 

"I  cannot  say  that  I  had,  but  I  had  read  about  their 
victimising  the  people,  ruining  their  daughters,  and  liv- 
ing on  sweated  labour,  out  of  which  they  got  carriages, 
motor  cars,  yachts,  and  every  other  abomination." 

"Why  abomination,  and  why  abuse  the  results  of  hu- 
man invention?" 

"Well,  it  was  the  use  they  put  them  to,  which  was 
for  themselves  and  for  no  one  else  on  God's  earth." 


102  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"That  is  better,  and  therein  you  appear  to  have  reason 
for  complaint.  Were  none  of  them  ever  kind  to  you?  " 

"Yes,  several,  and  more  would  have  been  if  I  had 
allowed  it;  but  when  you  came  to  know  them  as  in- 
dividuals you  changed  your  opinions,  so  I  kept  apart 
and  persuaded  myself  that  they  were  only  buying  me 
for  their  own  purposes." 

"Did  you  never  think  that  they  also  might  suffer?" 

"I  cannot  say  I  thought  of  them  at  all." 

"That  is  just  where  you  were  wrong.  How  would 
you  have  liked  to  have  nothing  to  do,  to  wonder  how 
you  could  put  in  the  time,  to  be  dragged  about  at  the 
whim  of  some  selfish,  over-dressed,  lazy  woman,  to  spoil 
your  digestion  by  over-eating  and  over-drinking,  to  be 
eternally  employed  in  the  labour  of  pleasure  till  you 
were  nauseated,  and  would  have  given  your  whole  soul 
for  a  pick  and  shovel?" 

"God  forbid!" 

"How  would  you  like  to  have  been  so  immersed  in 
stocks  and  shares  that  a  garden  became  meaningless  and 
the  grandest  view  a  boredom  compared  to  a  scrip  or  the 
jingle  of  a  coin?" 

"God  forbid!" 

"How  would  you  like  to  have  had  so  many  diseases 
that  all  the  faculty  were  called  in  when  there  was  noth- 
ing the  matter  with  you,  and  when  you  died,  how  would 
you  like  your  relations  to  swoop  down  like  birds  of  prey 
for  what  you  might  leave  behind?  " 

"God  forbid!" 

The  only  remark  the  Judge  made  was,  "Just  so." 


THE  AGITATOR  103 

"Did  you  happen,"  he  continued,  "to  study  the  laws 
of  capital  and  labour,  or  to  realise  how  mutually  inter- 
dependent they  were?" 

"I  knew  the  Socialist  side  well,  but  cannot  say  I  was 
well  up  in  the  other." 

"Did  you  not  think  it  hideously  wicked  to  pour  oil 
on  the  flames  of  human  anger,  to  increase  covetousness, 
and  to  breed  dissension  between  those  who  were  meant 
to  be  brethren?" 

"The  fault  lay  with  the  rich  and  with  the  capital- 
ists." 

"I  was  not  talking  of  the  rich  or  of  the  capitalists. 
Rest  assured  that  they  will  have  to  settle  their  own 
bill,  but  you  forget  my  question." 

"I'll  own  I  knew  it  was  wicked,  but  after  sufficient 
repetition  it  became  a  habit,  until  I  forgot  the  blue  of 
the  sky  and  saw  only  red." 

"I  think  I  can  understand,  but  I  am  deeply  grieved." 

"Why  should  you  be  grieved  for  a  man  like  me?" 

"Because  I  love  you,  that's  all." 

"Good  God!" 

"Excellent  words  which  I  advise  you  to  cherish,  but 
the  full  meaning  of  which  it  will  take  you  some  tune 
to  learn.  One  other  question.  How  far  did  love  of 
country  come  in,  or  how  far  did  you  become  willing  to 
sell  it  to  the  foreigner,  provided  you  could  lower  your 
special  enemies  in  the  dust,  who,  by  the  by,  spoke  your 
own  language  and  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  same 
nation?" 

"Yes,  I  got  as  low  as  that,  but  I  daresay  if  there 


104  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

had  been  trouble,  blood  would  have  proved  thicker  than 
water." 

"What  would  you  do  now  if  you  had  the  same 
chances?" 

"I  don't  want  them,  and  if  they  came  to  me  I  know 
that  I  should  queer  the  pitch  again,  for  the  good  reason 
that  in  no  other  way  could  I  come  to  the  top." 

The  lines  on  the  Judge's  face  were  more  deeply  marked 
at  the  end  of  his  words  than  at  the  beginning,  and  he 
quickly  pronounced  his  sentence,  with  a  seriousness  be- 
fitting the  struggle  through  which  the  Agitator  had  evi- 
dently passed. 

"I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  courtesy  with  which 
you  have  replied  to  my  questions,  nor  do  I  disguise  from 
myself  that  we  have  much  in  common.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  would  make  it  clear  to  you,  though  it  may  now 
be  hardly  necessary,  that  often  enough  the  man  who 
sets  out  with  the  intention  of  doing  most  good  ends 
by  doing  most  harm.  The  memory  of  the  martyrdom 
which  you  have  imposed  on  others,  without  bearing 
it  yourself,  will  prove  to  you  a  worse  hell  than  that  which 
was  so  fluidly  preached  in  your  local  Bethels.  You  will 
have  to  carry  with  you  for  years  the  thought  of  children 
done  to  death  that  you  might  taste  the  zest  of  living. 
So  intense  was  your  egoism  that  you  thought  to  effect  in 
your  own  person  work  belonging  to  a  higher  power,  and 
even  then  dependent  on  the  acceptance  of  its  influence. 
You  forgot  that  there  is  a  larger  proportion  of  happiness 
among  the  masses  than  among  the  classes,  and  that  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  to  be  found  in  simplicity.  Little 


THE  AGITATOR  105 

did  you  seem  to  grasp  the  fact  that  under  silks  and  satins 
there  is  often  an  aching  heart.  Such  a  slave  had  you 
become  to  your  own  gospel  that  you  overlooked  the  chief 
good,  namely,  work  honestly  done,  accompanied  by  per- 
sonal diffidence  and  universal  sympathy. 

"Ambition  in  itself  is  laudable,  but  in  yours  I  discover 
neither  religion  nor  patriotism,  save  in  the  beginning.  If 
your  mother  had  lived,  she  would  hardly  have  known 
her  boy  and,  had  you  been  able  to  provide  her  with  a 
carriage,  you  would  have  ruined  that  patient  soul.  What 
you  did  for  your  family  is  praiseworthy  and  your  virtue 
has  had  its  due  reward.  It  is  not  for  me  to  enter  into 
economics,  with  which  I  have  little  to  do,  but  it  is  for  me, 
though  it  may  wound  you  to  the  quick,  to  repeat  that 
men  like  yourself  are  bound  to  arrive  at  the  time  when 
they  recognise  their  folly.  Perhaps  the  hardest  thing 
I  can  say  is  that  your  country  needs  precisely  such  men 
as  you  if  it  is  to  be  saved.  Had  you  only  remained  gen- 
tle, loving,  and,  above  all,  large-hearted,  instead  of  being 
obsessed  by  your  own  point  of  view,  to  the  exclusion  of 
every  other  interest,  you  might  have  left  behind  you  an 
undying  name  as  liberator,  peace-maker,  and,  possibly, 
martyr. 

"Your  punishment,  as  you  can  imagine,  is  merely  to 
take  up  your  tools,  to  do  your  duty,  to  go  back  to  those 
libraries  and  read  those  other  books,  and  to  undo  by 
your  example  the  effects  of  that  hell-fire  and  political 
religion  which  obtained  in  your  locality.  When  you 
have  mastered  your  lesson,  you  shall  be  enabled  to  ad- 
vocate the  cause  of  justice  without  sinning  against  com- 


io6  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

mon  sense  and  without  losing  one  atom  of  your  native 
fire.  The  day  shall  come  when  it  is  by  no  means  un- 
likely that  you  will  see  red,  but  it  will  be  the  colour  of 
your  own  blood.  Your  world  will  be  a  wider  one,  and 
it  shall  consist  of  rich  and  poor,  one  with  another." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   ACTOR 

THE  prisoner,  for  whom  the  word  was  of  course 
only  a  courtesy  title,  glanced  about  him  with  a 
vague  expression  of  surprise  and  disappointment, 
as  though  there  had  been  a  mistake  in  the  seats  allotted 
to  him  and  to  the  Judge.  He  missed  his  audience  badly, 
nor  was  he  consoled  by  the  prospect  of  being  analysed. 
For  a  considerable  time  he  was  so  dazed  that  he  could 
not  take  in  the  absence  of  the  theatrical,  and  his  aloneness 
amounted  to  a  tragedy.  His  artistic  sense,  however, 
came  to  the  rescue.  In  spite  of  himself  he  looked  for- 
ward to  a  drama  without  scenery.  After  the  glare  of  the 
footlights  the  whiteness  of  his  face,  without  his  make-up, 
was  ghastly.  To  appear  without  his  company  was  dis- 
concerting, and  he  shrank,  as  few,  from  this  final  judg- 
ment which  was  opposed  to  the  histrionic.  Yet,  with 
courage  bordering  on  effrontery,  the  Actor  rose  to  the 
occasion  and  with  feigned,  if  not  natural  humility,  took 
his  place  to  play  the  most  earnest  part  for  which  he  had 
been  cast. 

It  was  impossible  to  criticise  him  as  other  men,  seeing 
that  his  whole  career  had  been  dramatic,  and  it  would 
have  been  asking  too  much  that  he  should  altogether 

107 


io8  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

divest  himself  of  the  spurious.  The  absorbing  question 
was  how  far  the  man  had  become  merged  in  the  profes- 
sion, though  it  is  the  fashion  to  assert  that  the  two  may 
exist  entirely  apart.  No  one  would  deny  that  such  a 
crisis  must  have  been  far  harder  for  him  than  for  the 
ordinary  prisoner.  Such  confusion  may  possibly  be  ex- 
aggerated by  the  onlooker  who  has  not  been  admitted 
to  private  intimacy  with  the  great,  but  the  Actor  bore 
traces  of  a  long  connection  with  the  stage,  which  had 
gradually  encroached  on  his  day  and  entered  into  his 
being.  It  was  this  which  called  for  special  considera- 
tion, the  more  so  since  the  almost  inevitable  loss  of  gen- 
uineness had  been  the  gain  of  others.  Once  more  the 
cosmic  law  became  apparent,  that  no  man  lives  to  him- 
self, or  even  affords  amusement  save  at  the  risk  of  his 
own  undoing.  So  swift  was  the  accused  to  harmonise 
with  the  mise-en-scene,  that  he  adopted  the  quick  change 
to  a  private  individual  with  hardly  an  effort.  As  the 
case  proceeded  and  he  found  that  it  was  confined  mainly 
to  his  public  attitude,  he  felt  more  at  home,  and  reverted 
to  the  language  of  the  theatre  rather  than  to  his  mother 
tongue,  which  he  had  almost  forgotten. 

"I  rise,"  he  said,  "with  all  diffidence,  to  accuse  myself 
of  many  things,  perceiving  that  I  am  in  the  presence  of 
my  master,  a  sensation  to  which  for  some  years  I  have 
been  a  stranger.  Were  I  asked  whether  I  am  genuinely 
sorry,  I  should  answer  that  part  of  me  is,  recognising 
as  I  do  that  this  is  the  moment  to  shed  a  tear.  But,  be- 
ing forced  to  honesty  in  spite  of  myself,  I  desire  to  ex- 
press my  inmost  feelings  so  far  as  any  remain.  I  wish 


THE  ACTOR  109 

to  acknowledge  a  self-satisfaction  which,  under  present 
circumstances,  ranks  with  insanity,  and,  what  is  still 
more  fatal,  is  not  in  the  picture.  Indeed  I  realise  that 
not  only  did  I  overrate  myself  but  was  seldom  off  the 
boards  except  in  my  sleep,  when,  by  the  bye,  my  dreams 
were  naturally  about  my  Mistress,  to  whom  I  am  ever 
faithful.  Here  I  might  possibly  recite  one  of  my  odes 
to  art,  a  mere  trifle,  but  on  second  thoughts  I  will  cut 
it  out.  To  be  serious,  I  became  a  poseur  of  the  worst 
description  and,  though  I  was  too  busy  to  detect  its  ap- 
proach, there  crept  over  me  a  blindness  to  facts  and  a 
lack  of  proportion  for  which  I  should  have  given  it  as 
my  opinion  that  any  one  else  ought  to  be  'certified.' 

"I  would  further  confess  that  this  same  clouding  of 
my  sense  rendered  it  difficult  to  be  a  true  friend,  to 
answer  letters,  to  keep  engagements,  or  to  hold  by  hon- 
our in  my  private  relationships,  unless  they  suited  my 
whims  or  served  the  purpose  of  a  poster.  By  nature  I 
was  not  devoid  of  affection,  being  abnormally  developed 
in  that  direction,  which  increases  my  offence,  seeing 
that  by  a  turn  of  the  finger  I  could  make  any  one  my 
slave  without  giving  them  aught  in  return.  It  is  sur- 
prising how  I  survived  what  to  most  men  would  have 
been  tragedies,  and  would  turn  up  for  rehearsal  without 
a  cloud  on  my  horizon.  At  this  point  I  would  like  to 
remark  that  mesmerism  as  a  science  is  much  neglected, 
and  no  good  work  can  be  done  without  it.  But  where  are 
we?  Thus  I  became  the  willing  victim  of  praise,  and  un- 
less I  received  it,  whether  deserved  or  not,  I  grew  tired  and 
found  myself  bored  even  by  my  oldest  acquaintances. 


no  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"My  solace  was  the  looking-glass,  and  to  it  I  constantly 
resorted,  till  a  moment  came  when  it  could  no  longer 
satisfy  me  and  I  was  plunged  into  corresponding  despair. 
Then  I  sent  for  my  friends,  whom  I  found  as  attached 
as  ever,  but  the  sense  of  my  fascination  for  them  (a 
talent  which  in  some  instances  may  amount  to  a  mis- 
fortune), though  it  acted  as  a  cocktail,  failed  to  do  me 
any  lasting  good.  On  the  contrary,  it  intensified  my 
conceit  to  think  that  there  were  quite  a  good  many  who 
would  have  been  only  too  pleased  to  lay  down  their 
lives  for  me  if  I  waved  my  wand,  without  any  effort  on 
my  part  to  retain  their  devotion.  What  it  was  that 
attracted  them  I  cannot  say,  but  even  now,  in  this  un- 
comfortably solemn  place,  I  am  chuckling  inside  over 
a  problem  of  which  I  was  the  centre. 

"As  for  the  Art  to  which  my  life  was  dedicated,  I  here 
admit,  and  with  less  confusion,  since  in  the  main  I  was 
true  to  it,  that  the  temptations  of  my  surroundings 
proved  at  times  too  strong  for  me.  I  have  no  desire 
to  excuse  myself  at  the  expense  of  others,  but  having 
ever  been  careful  to  avoid  scandal,  I  realise  that  I  have 
not  been  severely  tested.  I  prefer  to  own  that  the 
strain  of  remaining  at  my  best  and  the  price  of  preserv- 
ing my  early  ideals  became  too  expensive,  particularly 
if  it  meant  the  loss  of  popularity  and  conflicted  with 
the  love  of  money,  or  rather  spending  power,  which 
had  grown  upon  me.  With  those  about  me,  who  possi- 
bly helped  towards  this  end,  it  may  not  have  been  a 
sin,  but  for  myself  who  had  had  the  vision,  these  be- 
trayals filled  me  with  infinite  sorrow.  I  knew  full  well 


THE  ACTOR  in 

that  I  was  born  with  a  mission  to  inspire  my  fellows, 
and  to  turn  this  beastly  wilderness  of  a  world  into  some 
sort  of  garden.  From  the  fulfilment  of  that  high  call- 
ing I  frequently  fell  and,  having  fallen,  would  now  ask 
a  sentence  which,  however  hard,  shall  help  me  to  re- 
cover loyalty  to  the  voices  which  I  heard  more  clearly 
when  I  was  a  boy. 

"I  confess,  above  all,  that  I  deliberately  refused  to 
teach  the  lessons  laid  upon  me  because,  in  my  heart  of 
hearts,  I  privately  hated,  while  as  an  artist  I  adored, 
the  principle  of  sacrifice.  I  had  no  intention  of  losing 
my  life,  though  I  often  found  it  convenient  to  play  the 
part  in  order  to  appeal  to  the  emotions  of  the  pit  and 
to  soothe  the  conscience  of  the  stalls.  I  stand  here 
to-day  abashed,  but  happier  than  I  can  recall;  and  if  I 
might  beg  one  favour,  it  would  be  that  the  mischief  I 
did  may  not  be  perpetuated,  and  that  the  Art  which 
has  been  for  me,  and  still  is  to  multitudes  their  chief 
inspiration,  may  not  have  suffered  irretrievably  at  my 
hands." 

The  advocate  rose  with  sternness  but  with  confidence, 
conscious  that  he  had  to  defend  an  exceptional  character, 
but  one  who  was  more  fool  than  knave,  and  without 
vice  though  he  hugged  his  vices.  He  felt  that  he  was 
engaged  in  a  case  of  the  first  importance,  more  on  ac- 
count of  the  prevailing  infatuation  for  the  sham  than 
on  that  of  the  accused.  He  had  so  often  tried  to  get 
an  interview  with  him,  but  had  been  put  off  to  a  more 
convenient  season,  or  they  had  been  interrupted,  or  else 
after  two  minutes  the  Actor  had  got  back  to  himself, 


ii2  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

that  his  counsel  had  nearly  lost  interest  in  his  charge. 
The  presence  of  the  Judge  not  only  revived  it,  but  ren- 
dered the  occasion  far  more  suggestive. 

He  could  not  disguise  from  himself  that  what  was 
taboo  to  hundreds  of  the  most  pious  was  to  thousands 
not  only  one  of  their  chief  pleasures,  but  a  strong  factor 
in  their  mental  development.  It  was  not  for  him  to 
weigh  the  pros  and  cons,  but  he  was  distressed  at  the 
chasm  which  divided  the  disputants,  and  was  at  pains  to 
discover  a  media  via  by  which  they  might  at  any  rate 
become  less  opposed.  It  was  apparent  that  without 
some  dramatic  talent  the  pulpit  would  be  powerless, 
and  that,  if  the  actor  should  be  a  preacher,  the  preacher 
must  also  be  an  actor.  What  he  longed  to  witness  was 
not  so  much  the  abolition  of  the  theatrical  instinct  as 
its  purging  from  the  flagrant  abuses  and  hateful  bias 
towards  fantasy  by  which  it  was  threatened.  On  the 
other  hand,  seeing  that  the  difference  between  plays 
might  be  as  great  as  between  light  and  darkness,  he 
feared  a  too  hasty  and  sweeping  condemnation.  As  the 
advocate,  discarding  personalities,  surveyed  this  debat- 
able ground  of  right  and  wrong,  typified  by  the  de- 
bonair figure  leaning  over  the  dock,  he  spoke  with  a 
pathos  proportionate  to  its  absence  in  the  Actor. 

"I  rise,  my  Lord,"  he  said,  "to  put  before  you  the 
intimate  side  of  the  accused,  which  it  has  become  such 
a  habit  with  him  to  deny  that  I  was  myself  tempted  to 
forget  its  existence.  I  am  aware  that  at  times  his  want 
of  depth  and  his  sense  of  humour  did  not  allow  him  to 
take  in  the  gravity  of  the  proceedings.  At  others,  such 


THE  ACTOR  113 

was  the  obsession  of  the  scenic  that  he  even  failed  to 
recognise  your  Lordship  without  the  trappings  inciden- 
tal to  your  office.  Having  known  him  from  his  earliest 
days,  I  would  inform  you  that  his  was  one  of  the  kindest 
natures  conceivable.  On  occasions,  in  private  life,  he 
often  proved  himself  to  be  as  gentle  as  a  woman,  it 
hardly  being  so  much  his  fault  as  that  of  the  atmosphere 
of  his  calling  that  publicity  showed  him  at  his  worst. 
He  could  never  have  harmed  a  human  being,  but  rather 
was  lavish  in  his  pity  when  brought  into  contact  with 
suffering,  which  I  have  to  own  he  did  his  best  to  avoid. 
If  the  affair  was  sufficiently  striking,  it  was,  next  to 
appearing  on  the  boards,  his  greatest  luxury;  and,  if  he 
happened  to  decide  on  the  moment,  I  have  seldom  known 
his  equal  in  graceful  charity.  He  was  intensely  catholic, 
though  credited  with  being  exclusive,  but  so  practised 
was  he  in  fancying  himself  others  that  he  was  at  home 
with  the  common  heart.  I  doubt  whether  the  normal 
man  could  have  done  an  unkind  thing  and,  when  he  was 
cruel,  he  was  unconscious  of  it,  nearly  all  his  mistakes 
arising  from  the  egoism  to  which  he  has  alluded,  and 
which  was  more  grotesque  than  criminal. 

"He  held  a  high  place  among  those  who  spared  no 
pains  in  the  service  of  the  Art  to  which  they  were  de- 
voted, his  self-accusing  on  that  score  being  as  exag- 
gerated as  all  else  about  him.  None  but  myself  knew 
how  he  worked  and  strove  and  suffered  for  this  ideal, 
as  I  can  testify  when  he  was  alone  after  the  play  was 
done.  His  world,  which  was  a  comprehensive  one,  owed 
him  no  small  debt,  nor  would  he  have  acquired  the 


n4  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

worship  of  his  entourage  unless  he  had  proved  himself 
the  best  of  masters  to  all,  from  the  leading  lady  to  the 
call  boy.  Many  are  the  ways  which  point  upwards,  and 
mankind  is  moved  by  countless  forces  towards  its  better- 
ment. Such  a  spur  the  prisoner  undoubtedly  was,  and 
in  the  public  esteem,  which  is  seldom  wrong,  he  stood 
for  a  gay  courage  and  for  work  excellently  done,  amount- 
ing, sometimes,  to  a  passionate  inspiration.  He  went 
far  to  save  the  city  from  gloom,  but  the  price  he  paid 
was  more  than  once  a  darkness  which  tempted  him  to 
toy  with  a  pistol. 

"He  translated  many  of  the  best  thoughts  given  to 
the  world,  and  thus,  though  piety  was  not  his  object, 
was  on  the  side  of  the  angels.  You  will,  I  am  sure,  be 
lenient  towards  the  vanity  which  was  as  much  a  part 
of  the  man  as  his  fun,  and  will  divide  the  responsibility 
between  him  and  an  ignorant  society  which  treated  him 
with  a  flunkeyism  and  curiosity  on  a  par  with  that  paid 
to  exalted  personages.  His  lapses  through  the  temp- 
tation of  the  Box  Office  were  intelligible,  his  profession 
tending  to  extravagance,  as  also  to  a  crowd  of  flatterers, 
which  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  confine  himself  to  the 
best  work,  or  to  sustain  ideals  conducing  to  comparative 
poverty. 

"I  would  ask  your  Lordship,  then,  to  deal  with  him 
largely,  as  befits  the  size  of  his  attainments  and  the 
breadth  of  his  treatment,  both  of  which,  though  gifts, 
were  also  dangers.  My  contention  is  that  his  popularity 
was  immensely  due  to  painstaking,  that  he  never  quailed 
where  the  majority  would  have  given  in,  and  that,  in 


THE  ACTOR  115 

spite  of  his  shortcomings,  he  left  the  world  brighter  than 
he  found  it.  In  conclusion,  I  would  plead  that  he  nobly 
played  his  part  in  helping  men  and  women  over  many  a 
dark  and  tedious  moment,  causing  them  to  laugh  through 
their  grief ,  enlarging  their  horizon,  and  often  helping  them 
towards  heroism." 

A  smile  played  over  the  features  of  the  Judge,  as  though 
even  he  found  it  difficult  to  treat  the  prisoner  severely. 
Yet  this  was  only  for  a  moment,  and  his  questions  were 
full  of  an  earnestness  to  which  the  Actor  immediately 
responded.  When  the  Judge  asked  him  of  his  home  life 
and  early  intuitions,  his  eyes  moistened  and,  with  the 
frankness  of  a  child,  he  confessed  to  having  been  so 
touched  in  his  imagination  by  the  story  of  the  Gospels 
that  he  had  nearly  determined  to  be  a  priest,  but  the 
following  day  had  forgotten  all  about  it. 

As  to  his  vanity,  he  entirely  agreed,  but  was  mainly 
amused.  He  stated  that  he  had  never  felt  its  heinous- 
ness,  having  so  long  considered  himself  unique  that  even 
now  he  justified  it,  and  was  inclined  to  argue  the  point. 
The  meekness  of  the  Judge  began  at  last  to  disabuse  bis 
mind,  and  he  ended  by  owning  himself  to  be  on  this  count 
a  fool. 

When  the  Judge  questioned  him  as  to  morality,  the 
Actor  displayed  a  blend  of  idealism  and  inconsistency, 
as  if  his  sentiments  of  right  and  wrong  were  altogether 
blurred.  He  showed  little  sensitiveness  as  to  the  effect 
of  his  personal  example,  which  he  persisted  had  nothing 
to  do  with  such  abstract  terms  as  purity,  chivalry,  or 
saintliness,  by  which  he  had  never  ceased  to  be  moved. 


n6  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

Any  type  more  receptive  of  what  had  reference  to  beauty, 
or  even  to  the  Deity  Himself,  than  the  accused,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  conceive,  but  this  tender  counsellor  dis- 
covered him  to  be  singularly  dense  when  it  came  to  what 
annoyed  him  in  any  particular.  He  was  not,  however, 
nearly  such  a  dullard  as  he  seemed,  but  as  it  was  an 
invariable  rule  with  him  to  gratify  his  inclinations,  he 
found  it  convenient  to  ignore  all  relations  between  theory 
and  practice. 

When  the  Judge  spoke  of  the  matter  of  money,  he 
treated  it  as  not  over-important,  nor  did  he  screen  him- 
self on  the  ground  of  necessary  luxuries,  which  he  took 
for  granted.  He  frankly  admitted  that  the  Box  Office 
was  a  means  to  an  end,  that  he  did  not  care  for  gold, 
being  a  Bohemian  at  heart,  but  that  he  hated  incon- 
venience, loved  display,  and  desired  to  do  things  royally 
on  his  own  plane.  He  could  not  resist  adding  that  his 
extravagance  was  also  in  the  nature  of  an  advertisement. 

As  the  Judge  touched  on  the  more  public  aspect  of  his 
career,  the  Actor  became  more  intent,  having  till  then 
with  difficulty  sustained  his  attention,  and  a  look  of  sad- 
ness came  over  him  when  he  realised  how  much  of  his 
best  work  had  failed.  It  was  evident  that  here  he  was 
hit  the  hardest,  and  that  he  was  regretting  a  personality 
which  had  spoilt  some  of  his  best  productions.  Doubt- 
less he  recalled  how  his  keenest  pleasure  had  been  found 
in  his  noblest  characters,  contrasting  with  them  a  life 
which,  in  others,  would  have  earned  his  strongest  con- 
demnation. He  was  stung  by  the  paradox  of  having 
said  beautiful  things,  followed  by  ugly  deeds,  and  in  the 


THE  ACTOR  117 

twitchi'ig  of  his  face  you  could  see  the  gradual  resto- 
ration of  the  child.  This  was  achieved  with  consummate 
skill  and  patience  by  the  Judge,  who,  passing  by  what  it 
was  useless  to  refer  to,  gently  brought  the  Actor  back  to 
the  man,  and  proved  himself  in  so  doing  to  be  the  truest 
artist  of  all. 

When,  in  conclusion,  the  Judge,  with  pitiless  insistence, 
touched  on  the  point  of  the  influence  he  had  exercised 
on  the  drama  as  a  whole,  the  prisoner  winced  and,  with 
a  new-born  agony  at  the  thought  of  any  whom  he  had 
misled,  burst  into  tears  and  begged  him  to  say  no  more, 
because  this  at  least  he  could  not  bear,  and  this  at  least 
he  would  give  his  soul  to  undo. 

In  his  summing  up  the  Judge  remarked,  "Yours  is  a 
case  which  has  interested  me  profoundly,  and  during  the 
recital  of  which  I  have  been  moved  by  varied  feelings. 
As  to  your  egoism,  you  were  a  monomaniac,  which  for- 
tunately closes  that  subject.  I  recognise  the  largeness 
of  your  heart,  the  charm  of  your  disposition,  and  the 
brilliancy  of  your  gifts,  but  all  these  things,  being  totally 
unmerited,  have  only  laid  you  under  a  heavier  obligation. 
You  require  no  words  of  mine  to  remind  you  that,  to  a 
great  extent,  they  proved  your  bane  and  tended  towards 
your  demoralisation,  but  to  a  temperament  like  yours, 
your  own  disappointment  on  this  score  is  no  light  pun- 
ishment. 

"Wherein  you  have  failed  most  and  wherein  you  are 
bound  to  suffer  most  is  that  you  have  trifled  with  and 
even  degraded  opportunities  vouchsafed  to  few.  Called 
to  occupy  a  position  you  might  have  still  more  adorned, 


n8  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

and  endowed  with  versatility  and  mirth  for  the  benefit 
of  your  fellows,  you  often  fell  short  of  your  highest  and 
did  incalculable  damage.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  many 
have  been  led  astray  in  following  your  footsteps;  you 
are  already  so  haunted  by  the  thought  that  I  will  not 
add  to  your  pain.  Yet,  believe  me,  though  I  more  than 
make  allowance  in  my  decision,  I  shall  best  prove  my  love 
by  laying  on  you  such  a  task  as  shall  help  you  to  realise 
the  ideals  which  you  have  missed,  and  to  attain  those 
peaks  with  which  alone  your  aspirations  can  be  satisfied. 

"When  you  leave  this  Court  you  shall  employ  your 
talents  on  the  same  stage  as  heretofore,  but  with  a  dif- 
ferent setting.  For  years  you  shall  occupy  a  lower  place 
and  be  entirely  unknown.  You  shall  undergo  the  dis- 
cipline of  being  despised  and,  though  strong,  you  shaU 
become  far  stronger  through  suffering.  Gradually,  and 
by  painful  steps,  you  shall  approach  the  distinction  of 
former  days,  but  even  then  you  shall  be  baffled  and 
eclipsed  by  the  meanness  of  others,  until  you  learn  to 
loathe  the  vanity  which  vitiated  your  genius. 

"  Then,  when  your  soul  is  born,  your  imagination  will 
gain  a  force  it  never  knew  and,  when  your  heart  is 
broken,  the  pathos  of  your  utterance  shall  melt  all  who 
hear  it.  When  you  have  become  nothing  in  your  own 
esteem,  you  shall  be  re-entrusted  with  the  mission  for 
which  you  secretly  long,  and  you  shall  present  only  what 
your  awakened  conscience  approves.  It  shall  be  your 
care  that  none  about  you  shall  be  injured.  Having 
taken  your  own  measurement,  you  shall  wax  deadly 
earnest  and  accomplish  that  for  which  you  were  des- 


THE  ACTOR  119 

tined.  You  will  avoid,  instead  of  courting  the  mock  halo 
still  needed  by  your  colleagues,  and  you  will  dare  to  be 
real  because  you  have  no  further  use  for  unearned 
laurels.  You  will  give  to  your  calling  a  higher  and 
healthier  tone,  without  denying  its  legitimate  outlet 
both  to  laughter  and  to  the  heart.  All  this  will  cost  you 
much,  but  the  result  will  be  more  than  worth  the  price, 
and  you  will  be  able  to  look  into  that  same  glass  for 
professional  purposes  without  self-contempt  or  hypoc- 
risy. Then,  and  not  till  then,  when  you  shall  have 
learned  the  secret  of  gaining  the  heart  of  the  people  by 
the  lavish  giving  of  your  own,  will  you  be  a  great  actor." 


CHAPTER  X 

CIRCE 

SHE  belonged  very  much  to  society.  It  would 
have  been  difficult  to  discover  the  smallest  defect 
in  her  bearing.  The  most  prominent  feature  was 
the  feeling  of  comfort  she  brought  with  her,  and  she 
might  have  been  described  as  just  a  womanly  woman. 
Everything  about  her  breathed  kindness.  Whatever  her 
faults,  it  was  impossible  not  to  call  to  mind  one  who  was 
much  forgiven  because  she  loved  much.  Not  for  a 
moment  did  Circe  suggest  carnality  pure  and  simple,  but 
rather  an  intense  craving  to  bestow  affection  where  it 
might  be  needed.  She  happened  to  have  been  well 
placed  in  the  world,  but,  good  manners  being  her  forte, 
she  would  have  been  at  home  anywhere  and  have  given 
the  sense  of  it  to  all  her  surroundings.  Her  dualism  was 
apparent  and,  though  she  was  undoubtedly  voluptuous, 
there  was  an  unmistakable  hint  of  the  angel. 

She  was  full  of  brain,  had  plainly  thought  out  problems, 
and  had  made  her  plans  without  being  influenced  by 
public  opinion  or  accepted  standards.  Her  attitude  at 
the  moment  was  in  exact  keeping  with  the  position  in 
which  she  found  herself,  as  she  possessed  that  delightful 
quality  of  becoming  part  of  the  picture  without  the  least 


CIRCE  121 

effort.  Being  well  bred,  she  was  hardly  affected  by  in- 
convenience, and  behaved  as  if  it  was  perfectly  natural 
that  she  should  be  brought  up  for  judgment.  Her  pres- 
ence set  the  onlooker  thinking  how  many  must  be  occu- 
pied with  the  thought  of  her,  and  it  was  hard  not  to 
arrive  at  the  wrong  conclusion  that  the  fates  had  been  kind 
to  a  woman  endowed  with  such  power  of  pleasing.  The 
anomaly  about  this  most  selfish  being  was  that  she  was 
more  concerned  with  the  affairs  of  others  than  with  her 
own,  though  how  to  explain  such  a  paradox  passes  compre- 
hension. Her  first  thought  was  for  the  Judge  who  was 
being  detained  on  her  account,  nor  was  this  fanciful,  for 
she  was  so  peculiarly  sympathetic  that  the  other  person's 
standpoint  immediately  struck  her  and  she  found  herself 
intent  on  being  what  she  would  have  called  "extra  nice." 
"I  should  like,"  she  said,  "to  thank  you  sincerely  for 
having  brought  me  here,  by  no  means  against  my  will, 
as  for  years  I  have  longed  to  arrive  at  a  solution  of  the 
riddle  how  to  be  good  without  ceasing  to  be  gay.  I  fear 
that  what  I  have  to  say  is  very  commonplace  and  cannot 
appeal  to  one  so  far  removed  from  my  own  level,  but  at 
any  rate  I  never  deceived  myself  in  what  I  did,  nor  ever 
pretended  that  it  had  my  entire  approval.  I  was  mar- 
ried under  the  best  possible  conditions  and,  when  the 
wedding  bells  rang,  no  girl  drank  more  deeply  of  joy. 
My  husband  was  for  me  a  demi-god  for  quite  a  little 
time;  but,  without  any  fault  on  his  part,  save  that  he  was 
not  brilliant,  there  came  over  me  a  lifelessness  and  a 
craving  for  something  vivid,  coloured,  and  dangerous, 
though  I  had  everything  mortal  could  desire. 


122  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Yet  there  it  was,  and  I  was  attracted  to  the  illicit  for 
no  definite  reason,  but  because  the  licit  was  too  con- 
tracted and  too  tame.  I  cannot  accuse  myself  of  being 
carnally  inclined  beyond  the  rest,  but  I  felt  an  over- 
whelming thirst  for  new  experiences  and,  in  the  process, 
to  give  myself  away.  My  husband,  who  was  'awfully 
fond  of  me,'  could  not  imagine  why  I  could  be  aught  but 
content,  nor,  had  he  asked  me  directly,  could  I  myself 
have  explained  it.  Yet  my  brain  went  on  working  and 
working,  and  my  life  seemed  to  be  stopping  and  stopping, 
until  I  came  across  what  promised  to  fulfil  my  desire 
and  brought  me  a  sensation  which  I  euphemised  by  the 
name  of  harmony.  We  arranged  matters  without  any 
disturbance  to  my  home.  The  man  whose  name  I  bore 
was  busied  with  his  own  concerns,  and  I  doubt  if  he 
bothered  much  about  anything  so  long  as  I  came  down 
in  the  morning  looking  fresh,  and  during  the  day  per- 
formed my  duties  of  chatelaine. 

"I  am  conscious  that  I  was  the  reverse  of  true,  but 
the  pity  is  that  I  cannot  say  it  caused  me  the  smallest 
regret.  Wrong  came  to  be  right  after  I  had  taken  the 
first  step,  and  one  side  of  my  character  was  unquestion- 
ably improved  through  an  action  for  which  I  neither  could 
nor  wished  to  find  an  excuse.  I  was  sweeter,  kinder, 
and  more  charitable  than  I  had  been  before,  and  though 
I  had  to  give  up  praying  I  deceived  myself  into  thinking 
the  angels  nearer,  and  that  existence  had  taken  on  a  new 
glory.  I  no  longer  despised  the  courtesan,  though  I  did 
not  stop  to  wonder  why,  and  the  peasant  woman  became 
my  sister,  but  society  began  to  lose  its  charm,  while  I 


CIRCE  123 

developed  into  a  rebel  against  convention.  If  I  were 
asked  to  compare  my  lover  with  my  husband,  the  odd 
thing  is  that  I  would  never  have  married  the  former. 
Yet,  when  I  think  over  the  wildness  of  it  all,  the  stolen 
interviews,  the  living  on  the  edge,  the  mysterious  blend- 
ing of  my  worst  with  my  best,  I  still  cannot  pretend  to 
remorse,  and  believe  I  should  do  the  same  over  again." 

(Here  the  Judge  gently  remarked  that  the  last  senti- 
ment was  probably  premature.) 

"Then  my  friend  died  and  life  became  shrouded  in 
gloom.  I  invested  him  with  a  halo  and  kept  the  romance 
locked  away  in  a  secret  drawer,  with  my  most  sacred 
treasures.  The  mother  in  me  was  troubled,  I  must 
admit,  and  I  caught  myself  envying  the  '  one-man'  type 
of  woman  whose  single  love  had  ever  been  for  her  as  her 
religion.  Time  brought  its  own  cure,  or  rather  a  return 
of  the  same  disease.  The  old  yearning  had  again  and 
yet  again  to  be  satisfied,  till  I  came  to  the  point  when, 
without  a  'friend,'  the  days  would  have  been  insupport- 
able. I  grew  less  and  less  difficult  to  please,  though,  for 
my  husband's  sake,  I  never  neglected  appearances,  nor 
gave  him  cause  to  imagine  that  anything  was  wrong. 
The  ghastly  part  of  it  was  that  I  cared  for  them  all  in 
varying  degrees;  but  I  suppose  I  must  have  been  like 
an  eastern  book  in  a  western  cover,  and  even  now  I  can- 
not in  the  least  understand. 

"This  it  was  which  kept  me  tender  and  soft,  while 
it  vivified  my  brain  and,  loving  knowledge  almost  as 
keenly  as  I  did  touch,  I  was  for  ever  striving  to  learn  and 
to  forward  my  evolution.  I  wrote,  too,  and  they  tell 


124  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

me  that  I  helped  thousands,  but  here  I  was  a  puzzle  to 
myself,  for  I  contradicted  my  own  conduct  and  pleaded 
for  purity  as  though  I  had  been  a  nun.  That  is  my  story ; 
and,  when  my  call  came  to  leave,  never  was  there  a  more 
tender  farewell  than  my  husband  gave  me,  which  I  knew 
was  undeserved,  but  I  kept  my  secret  even  then.  Now 
I  am  glad  to  have  arrived  where,  for  the  first  time,  I  can 
tell  it  all  and,  without  one  atom  of  reserve,  reveal  this 
melange,  which  was  unspeakably  despicable,  but  the  mem- 
ory of  which  is  inexplicably  sweet." 

The  advocate  addressed  himself  to  his  task  with  no 
hesitation,  appearing  to  know  his  client  intimately,  and 
to  be  confident  of  her  eventual  ascent,  though  he  had 
often  marked  with  sorrow  the  downward  grade  on 
which  she  had  been  travelling.  As  a  rule  the  advocate 
manifested  feelings  either  of  attraction  or  repulsion,  but 
in  this  case,  when  her  counsel  interceded  for  Circe,  it  was 
clear  that  he  both  sympathised  with  and  hated  her 
character. 

"I  rise,  my  Lord,"  he  began,  "not  only  to  ask  for 
leniency,  but  to  appeal  to  the  love  which  is  your  speciality 
and  of  which  the  accused  is  by  no  means  ignorant.  In- 
credible as  it  may  appear,  she  always  welcomed  our 
private  interviews,  regarding  me  as  her  dear  friend. 
She  had  a  leaning  towards  holy  things,  and  the  singularity 
of  her  make-up  is  shown  by  her  delight  in  worship.  It 
is  difficult  to  speak  with  certainty  of  what  the  result 
might  have  been  if,  at  her  marriage,  her  soul  had  met 
its  mental  mate,  there  being  that  in  her  blood  which 
is  abnormal  to  her  sex,  else  the  world  would  stand  a  poor 


CIRCE  125 

chance  of  being  saved.  Your  Lordship  alone  can  decide 
whether,  if  she  had  been  gifted  with  a  companion  on 
the  intellectual  side,  the  subsequent  disaster  would  have 
taken  place.  This  woman  was  instinct  with  generosity, 
nor  was  she  happy  except  in  the  expression  of  it.  For 
some  psychological  reason  her  emotions  refused  to  be 
limited  to  a  single  safety  valve;  and  I  contend  that, 
when  this  obtains,  the  patient  (which  I  believe  is  a  fit- 
ting term)  verges  on  the  incurable,  calling  not  only  for 
medical  skill  but  for  ample  allowance. 

"She  refused  the  former,  not  desiring  freedom,  and 
it  was  not  her  good  fortune  to  meet  with  the  latter. 
Her  looseness  of  conduct,  betraying  itself  more  than 
she  was  aware  in  her  face  and  general  appearance,  pre- 
vented the  approach  of  the  pious,  whom  at  that  time 
she  would  have  repelled,  so  that  she  was  left  much  alone. 
Not  alone,  indeed,  on  the  part  of  those  who  helped  her 
undoing,  though  she  found  herself,  when  in  their  com- 
pany, craving  for  a  holiness  which  attracted  her  and, 
for  lack  of  which,  none  of  her  friends  could  hold  her  for 
long.  It  is  beyond  my  power  to  describe  her  agonised 
attempts  to  break  away  from  her  lower  self.  Had 
she  been  asked,  at  such  moments,  what  she  wished  for 
more  than  all  else,  her  reply  would  have  been  hatred  of 
sin.  I  doubt  if  she  ever  came  near  it  because,  though 
one  side  of  her  loathed  itself  in  dust  and  ashes,  so  strong 
was  her  innate  animalism  that,  as  she  declared  in  her 
statement,  wantonness  never  became  for  her  quite 
wrong.  Her  piety  was  epileptic,  and  she  had  fits  of  it; 
but  she  rapidly  recovered  and,  throwing  up  her  hands, 


126  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

after  a  while  let  herself  float  down  the  stream.  The 
complaisance  of  her  husband,  who  possibly  guessed  more 
than  he  knew,  but  whose  hatred  of  the  disagreeable  was 
proverbial,  was  not  in  her  favour.  Could  she  have 
gone  into  a  convent  at  the  magical  moment,  she  would 
have  lost  her  restlessness  and  become  an  excellent  abbess. 

"I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  more  lucid  in  presenting 
to  you  this  bundle  of  contradictions,  but  there  is  the 
truth,  and  its  seriousness  is  the  greater  since  it  shows 
the  non-moral  standpoint  of  a  vaster  number  of  women 
in  civilised  countries  than  I  dare  to  contemplate.  I 
pray  you  not  to  forget  that,  in  her  own  way,  she  loved 
her  husband  and  her  children,  but  that  the  flood  of  feel- 
ing was  too  strong  for  her,  swamping  her  good  resolves, 
and  landing  her  in  a  morass  too  pitiable  for  words. 
From  that  quagmire  she  pleads  to  you,  being  too  chival- 
rous to  complain  lest  she  should  bring  one  atom  of 
blame  on  others,  but  lilies  may  be  even  whiter  and  more 
luxuriant  for  the  blackness  of  the  soil  in  which  they 
were  nurtured." 

The  effect  on  the  Judge  was  to  render  him  speechless. 
The  movement  of  his  lips  showed  that  he  was  praying 
for  power  to  deal  wisely  with  a  dilemma  appalling  both 
in  its  frequency  and  its  faithlessness.  Calm  returned 
to  him  without  overmuch  delay,  but  it  was  long  enough 
to  portray  the  penalty  of  a  priesthood  that  descends 
into  the  abyss  from  which  it  strives  to  rescue  the  perish- 
ing. He  then  spoke  gently  with  the  accused: 

"Tell  me  of  your  childhood  and  how  it  was  passed." 

"I  call  to  mind  the  loveliest  home,  where  everything 


CIRCE  127 

conduced  to  make  for  good.  There  was  an  old  chapel 
close  to  the  Hall  which  was  my  favourite  haunt,  and  I 
loved  the  hills,  the  country,  the  lake  in  the  park,  the 
running  water,  and  the  animals,  especially  my  pets.  I 
used  to  wander  for  hours  telling  stories  to  myself  about 
the  saints,  and  there  was  always  a  knight  or  two  thrown 
in." 

"Did  any  one  help  or  advise  you  when  you  were 
young?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  and  though  I  forgot  his  teaching,  he 
remained  my  best  friend,  whatever  happened,  crediting 
me  with  the  highest  aims." 

"To  what  do  you  attribute  your  disloyalty  to  the 
teaching  of  your  early  guide?" 

"I  cannot  say;  it  just  came.  I  was  for  ever  and  for 
ever  wanting  something,  though  I  could  not  have  told 
what,  but  I  gave  no  thought  to  the  unhappy  who  were 
calling  out  for  my  service." 

"How  was  it  that  you  did  not  hear  their  sighing  and 
their  groaning  as  you  knelt  by  the  Altar?" 

"I  wish  I  knew,  but  the  religion  of  my  childhood  was 
hardly  more  than  a  day-dream  of  which  I  was  the  cen- 
tral figure.  The  Gospel  was  all  too  wonderful  and  too 
beautifully  old.  I  had  the  dearest  little  books  at  my 
bed-head,  but  the  language  in  which  they  spoke  was  of 
so  long  ago  that  they  had  no  bearing  on  my  days.  I 
could  not  imagine  that  the  thorns  were  meant  for  me 
who  loved  the  flowers." 

"Would  you  say  that  your  upbringing  was  responsible 
for  your  later  declension?" 


128  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"It  seems  like  one  book,  and  the  early  chapters 
breathed  the  same  fantasy  which  ran  throughout  the 
volume." 

"Were  you  prone  to  melancholy  during  your  girl- 
hood?" 

"I  had  fits  of  sadness  after  any  great  elation  or  after 
reading  the  mediaeval  love  stories  which  I  found  in  the 
library." 

"When  you  were  a  woman,  did  you  suffer  from  no 
satiety  after  your  indulgence?" 

"I  hardly  think  I  did,  for  then  it  was  tangible  and 
terribly  real.  Sometimes  I  would  weep,  but  I  made  up 
some  fairy  tale  as  to  how  at  last  I  had  found  the  blue 
rose  and  things  would  be  better,  if  not  the  best,  this 
time." 

"As  you  grew  older,  did  you  feel  sick  to  think  how 
you  had  spoiled  the  story  and  sullied  your  soul?" 

"No,  it  would  have  been  cowardly,  and  we  were 
brought  up  not  to  go  back,  even  on  the  devil,  if  we  had 
played  into  his  hands.  I  took  it  all  as  it  came,  though 
I  was  conscious  of  the  shreds  and  patches,  but  I  would  not 
own  it,  and  I  did  have  happy  moments  which  it  would 
be  ungrateful  to  deny." 

"Did  you  never  realise  the  vileness  of  your  hypocrisy 
and  that  you  were  worse  than  the  courtesan,  in  that 
your  actions  were  on  a  level  with  hers  while  you  still 
posed  as  being  a  wife  and  retained  your  position  in  the 
world?" 

"Sometimes  it  came  over  me,  but  I  solaced  myself 
by  thinking  that  we  were  different,  and  that,  at  any  rate, 


CIRCE  129 

no  trading  came  in  and  my  own  sinning  was  veiled  in 
much  beauty." 

"Did  not  the  thought  of  your  children  come  to  your 
aid,  and  how  could  you  find  it  possible  to  look  them  in 
the  face  again?" 

"Why  such  confusion  did  not  send  me  mad  I  cannot 
say,  for  I  loved  them  passionately  and  often  prayed  that 
they  might  not  have  the  same  nature  as  mine." 

"Did  it  not  strike  you  that  a  mother's  influence  lies 
not  so  much  in  what  she  says  or  does  as  in  what  she 
is?" 

"I  felt  that,  and  knew  that  I  must  be  a  pollution  to 
them,  so  I  handed  them  over  more  and  more  to  gover- 
nesses, in  whose  selection  I  was  extremely  careful,  and 
who  could  talk  to  them  of  things  of  which  I  was  un- 
worthy to  speak." 

"How  was  it  they  did  not  serve  to  bring  you  back?  " 

"More  than  once  they  almost  did,  when  I  kissed  them 
as  they  slept  and  vowed  with  blinding  tears  that,  for 
their  sakes,  I  would  be  clean." 

"Did  they  love  you  in  return?" 

"More  than  many  good  women  are  loved,  but  it 
proved  a  temptation  and  cheated  me  into  thinking  that, 
after  all,  my  private  yielding  did  them  no  harm." 

"And  their  father,  whom  you  profess  to  have  loved 
throughout?  " 

"He  remained  to  me  the  dearest  man  in  the  world, 
and  there  was  nothing  that  I  would  not  have  done  for 
him,  except  to  give  up  a  sensation  which  had  become 
for  me  as  my  daily  food." 


i3o  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Did  you  ever  think  of  his  honour  when  you  endan- 
gered your  own?  " 

"For  his  own  sake  I  often  asked  him  to  take  me  away 
where  I  thought  I  would  be  a  better  wife,  and  where  I 
resolved  to  think  of  nothing  but  his  interests." 

"How  could  you  go  on  caring  for  him  while  you  were 
fouling  his  nest  and  doing  him  the  greatest  injury  that 
one  can  do  another?" 

"Here  I  am  at  a  loss  for  an  answer,  but  I  can  swear 
that  I  cared  and  that  I  have  never  known  another  man 
with  whom  I  would  have  lived." 

"Does  the  thought  of  him  hurt  you  now? " 

"More  than  any  other,  except  a  vague  one  that  I  have 
offended  hopelessly  against  God,  as  I  can  see  by  the  sor- 
row on  your  face." 

("Not  hopelessly,"  the  Judge  remarked,  and  tears  fell 
from  his  eyes,  though  they  seemed  to  be  more  of  joy  than 
of  pain.) 

"Did  you  not  realise  that,  in  your  descent,  you  were 
dragging  down  your  friends?" 

"I  deluded  myself  that  I  would  not  have  hurt  a  hair 
of  their  heads,  but  so  distorted  was  my  view  that  I  did  not 
resent  it  when  they  called  me  the  saviour  of  their  lives." 

"Can  you  recall  one  who  ultimately  became  bettered 
by  these  unhappy  ventures?" 

"None." 

"Did  you  realise  that  you  were  undermining  the  basis 
of  society,  or  that  you  had  taken  a  solemn  vow  to  forsake 
all  other?" 

"I  see  now  what  I  did  not  see  then,  but  if  you  put 


CIRCE  131 

it  to  me  so  bluntly  I  shall  despair  and  lose  sight  of  the 
lining  which  silvered  my  darkest  clouds." 

"If  you  had  the  chance,  would  you  give  up  all  that 
side  and  become  one  of  the  godly  matrons  to  whose  ranks 
you  pledged  yourself  at  your  marriage?" 

"I  am  afraid  I  should  not  unless  I  was  quite  old  and, 
brutal  as  it  may  seem,  I  fear  I  should  still  dream  of  the 
past  and  wish  it  might  return." 

The  Judge,  in  finally  addressing  the  prisoner,  contin- 
ued to  adopt  the  tone  of  his  talk,  so  unwilling  did  he 
seem  to  put  her  in  the  pillory,  yet  from  his  lips  came 
sterner  words  than  were  his  wont. 

"I  wish  to  explain  to  you,"  he  said,  "that  your  life 
has  done  graver  harm  than  a  more  openly  wicked  one, 
though,  strangely  enough,  not  so  much  to  yourself  as 
to  the  sisterhood  to  which  you  belong.  Your  own  sen- 
sitiveness in  sinning  against  your  ideal  has  brought  with 
it  sufficient  punishment.  I  grant  that  you  were  com- 
plex above  the  average,  to  an  extent  never  intended  by 
nature,  but  it  is  well  to  remember  the  natural  law  that 
the  indulgence  of  parents  may  reappear  in  the  immoral- 
ity of  their  offspring.  I  would  warn  you  not  to  ex- 
cuse yourself  by  that  worst  of  subterfuges,  'non-moral.' 
You  must  admit  that  you  sinned  against  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  integrity,  and  dishonoured  the  names  of  wife 
and  mother,  though  no  one  can  accuse  you  of  falling 
short  of  the  tenderness  implied  by  both.  When  I  think 
that  you  publicly  denounced  divorce  to  save  your  own  face, 
I  should  be  tempted  to  speak  with  unalloyed  disgust,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  thorn  with  which  you  were  buffeted. 


i32  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"I,  too,  have  heard  your  prayers,  every  one  of 
which  was  genuine  when  it  was  uttered,  but  the  springs 
of  self-pleasing  must  be  looked  for  nearer  the  source. 
The  foundations  of  your  character  were  sapped  by  the 
charm  of  your  home,  and  by  those  long  walks  when  you 
pictured  the  nuns  and  the  knights  in  mystic  fellowship. 
The  romance  of  the  chapel  and  the  snare  of  its  dim  re- 
ligious light  prepared  you  for  the  fallacies  which  followed. 
When  your  teacher,  for  whom  you  preserved  a  laudable 
reverence,  failed  to  bring  you  up  soberly  on  the  Word, 
he  sowed  the  seeds  of  irreparable  harm.  When  he 
omitted  to  point  out  that  broken  bread  and  outpoured 
wine  conveyed  the  prospect  of  unselfishness  and  sacrifice, 
he  little  knew  that  he  was  helping  to  form  habits  which 
resulted  in  sacrilege.  Here  it  was  that  the  venom  began  its 
deadly  work,  rendering  subsequent  self-control  well-nigh 
impossible,  nor  is  it  surprising  that,  when  you  thought  you 
were  devout,  you  often  woke  to  find  you  were  sensual. 

"Your  greatest  guilt  lies  in  having  endangered  the 
virtue  of  other  women,  not  by  your  words,  of  which  you 
were  uniformly  careful,  but  by  your  atmosphere,  which 
suggested  a  poisonous  perfume.  You  were  false  to  the 
fundamental  truth  that  woman  was  made  to  be  a 
help  meet  for  the  difficulties  of  man,  and  not  a  hindrance 
meet  for  his  emasculation.  Unwittingly  you  retarded 
the  liberation  of  your  sex  by  your  license,  and  your 
conduct  fostered  the  delusion  that  friendship  can  be 
blessed  without  the  preservation  of  holiness.  Where 
the  calibre  of  both  calls  forth  sincere  devotion,  the  emo- 
tion is  too  intense  to  admit  of  any  medium.  Herein 


CIRCE  133 

your  charm  added  to  the  curse;  but,  knowing  that  you 
feel  this  in  your  heart,  I  cannot  add  to  your  anguish. 
Anything  sadder,  anything  more  contrary  to  the  divine 
intention  it  is  impossible  to  imagine,  but  from  the  mo- 
ment its  meaning  is  mastered,  no  living  force  becomes 
half  so  effective  in  bringing  about  the  new  heaven  and 
the  new  earth  which  are  destined  to  arrive. 

"As  for  your  penalty,  I  have  nought  to  say  except  to 
leave  you  to  think  it  out  after  you  have  heard  the  un- 
disguised truth.  You  are  too  religious  in  yourself  to 
need  indirect  guidance,  and  without  a  word  you  know 
precisely  the  path  you  are  called  upon  to  tread.  Little 
is  required  in  a  character  like  yours  but  the  foregoing  of 
your  own  will.  As  birds  fly,  your  trend  will  then,  but 
not  till  then,  be  upward.  To  your  aid  in  this  emprise 
will  come  your  almost  boundless  affection,  your  entire 
liberty  from  prejudice,  and  your  rare  freedom  from  social 
distinctions.  When  your  perverted  passions  are  once 
impressed  into  this  new  endeavour,  you  will,  ere  long, 
return  to  the  best  lessons  in  the  ruined  chapel,  and  to 
the  help  which  might  have  come  to  you  from  your  hills. 
Though  you  cannot  obviate  the  injuries  of  which  you 
have  been  guilty,  you  will  find  yourself  asking,  if  not 
for  their  removal,  that  they  may  issue  in  the  same  re- 
pentance which  has  come  to  yourself.  Above  all,  you 
shall  find  that  the  fairy  stories  were  true,  namely,  that 
men  and  women,  dedicated  to  God,  were  created  for 
His  glory  and  to  love  without  ceasing  to  be  pure.  Your 
old  teacher  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   SENTIMENTALIST 

IT  WAS  evident  that  so  poor  a  creature  would  have 
a  bad  time  before  such  a  Judge.  His  manner  was 
annoying  and  his  meaningless  expression  contrasted 
unfavourably  with  the  force,  however  deplorable,  to  be 
seen  in  those  more  criminally  inclined.  The  difficulty 
was  to  put  one's  ringer  on  any  special  flaw  in  the  Senti- 
mentalist, who  was  faultlessly  attired  and  had  the  face 
of  an  insipid  angel.  'He  looked  supremely  pleased  with 
himself,  nor  had  he  any  intention  of  being  disturbed. 
The  accused  had  lost  every  vestige  of  the  solid  in  his 
mawkish  and  unhealthy  mode  of  existence.  Doubtless 
he  had  been  the  subject  of  unlimited  homage,  which 
had  tended  to  prevent  self-knowledge,  and  which  had 
by  no  means  been  rebuked  as  it  deserved.  His  hair  was 
too  long,  his  blue  eyes  lacked  depth,  and  his  profile  was, 
in  his  peculiar  language,  that  of  a  Greek  god.  His  name 
had  been  in  the  mouth  of  thousands  who  had  hung  on 
his  words,  never  dreaming  how  they  had  undermined 
their  lives,  but  quoting  them  as  wonderful,  heavenly, 
intense,  suggestive  of  moonlight,  or  other  epithets  which 
were  current  coin  among  his  admirers. 

Meanwhile,  the  recipient  of  this  adulation  remained 

134 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  135 

unmoved,  and  there  was  no  line  on  his  face  hinting  at 
pain  or  any  other  inconvenience.  His  smile,  which  had 
been  styled  seraphic,  soon  palled,  and  it  became  apparent 
that  the  case  had  to  do  with  one  of  the  worst  enemies 
of  manliness.  He  was  so  occupied  with  his  own  affairs 
that  for  a  time  he  did  not  notice  the  Judge,  but  suddenly 
glancing  up,  he  was  disconcerted  by  the  directness  of 
his  gaze  and  the  quiet  rebuke  conveyed.  Though  he 
had  touched  the  high-water  mark  of  conceit,  even  he 
felt  that  play-acting  was  done  with;  and,  giving  way  to 
enforced  candour,  he  rose  from  his  seat  with  an  elaborate 
bow. 

"I  feel  that  I  must  ask  a  thousand  pardons  for  any 
trouble  I  may  be  causing,  but  I  am  suffering,  for  the 
first  time,  from  an  attack  of  sincerity,  for  which  I  would 
respectfully  apologise.  Though  I  cannot  grasp  how  my 
concerns  can  interest  you,  I  would  inform  you  that  for 
many  years  I  have  led  a  distinguished  career  in  delud- 
ing the  world,  and  in  stirring  up  emotions  which  I  have 
always  suppressed  in  myself  lest  they  should  endanger 
my  exceptional  beauty. 

"I  can  hardly  recall  an  element  of  romance  which  I 
have  not  used  for  all  it  was  worth.  Soon  after  my  ar- 
rival at  puberty  (you  will  find  this  expression  in  one  of 
my  novels),  I  was  struck  by  the  Bible  as  full  of  excellent 
passages  for  the  poet,  and  the  central  Figure  of  the  Gos- 
pels presented  to  me  a  union  of  pathos  and  power  in 
which  I  detected  the  making  of  first-class  material.  Some 
of  the  women  in  the  Book,  too,  took  my  fancy,  and  I  made 
a  note  of  them  as  the  groundwork  of  my  future  heroines, 


136  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

nor  did  I  consider  it  unbecoming  to  weave  a  love  story 
between  one  of  them  and  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 
Having  thus  carefully  baited  my  trap  for  the  suburbs,  I 
rapidly  proceeded  to  warmer  fiction.  Not  that  I  ever 
guessed  for  what  triumphs  I  was  destined,  but  I  wrote 
when  the  afflatus  came  over  me,  though  after  having 
accomplished  titanic  tasks  I  was  not  in  the  least  fatigued, 
but,  in  the  words  of  my  intimates,  as  fresh  as  a  daisy. 

"My  books  achieved  an  unheard-of  sale,  under  a 
nom  de  plume  which  was  in  itself  a  caress.  Ere  long  I 
was  idolised  both  in  my  own  and  other  countries  as  a 
constant  delight,  and  as  a  magician  whose  pen  was  'a 
feather  dropped  from  an  angel's  wing'  (a  description  in 
one  of  the  journals  which  I  cannot  forbear  repeating). 
The  common  people  read  me  gladly,  but  I  was  also  much 
patronised  by  the  middle  class;  and  society  enjoyed  my 
publications,  though  they  affected  to  be  strangers  to 
them.  My  pet  aversion  was  seriousness,  and  I  regarded 
the  Puritans  as  showing  execrable  taste.  I  loved  wars, 
or  rather  stories  culled  from  the  battlefield,  scenes  of 
carnage,  and  dying  farewells  from  a  young  man,  generally 
in  the  Guards.  I  was  a  perfect  king  at  sunsets,  or  the 
depiction  of  countries  where  the  blood  ran  riot,  where 
monks  were  tempted  and  where  nuns  were  suddenly 
aware  of  impulses  which  made  them  blush  as  they  con- 
templated their  vows. 

"My  stories  were,  for  the  most  part,  Byron-and- water, 
but  I  was  careful  to  introduce  a  large  vein  of  religion,  sat- 
isfying the  conscience  of  the  reader  and  enabling  daugh- 
ters to  assure  their  mothers  that  the  book  was  not  only 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  137 

entrancing  but  all  right.  I  did  my  best  to  soften  the 
world,  and  am  glad  to  think  that  I  never  overtaxed  the 
intelligence,  but  acted  as  a  hammock  in  which  my  wor- 
shippers could  swing  to  and  fro,  as  they  lazily  drank 
in  the  honey  of  my  flowing  words.  The  curate  served 
me  well,  and  once  I  felt  moved  to  subscribe  to  a  fund  for 
his  better  support,  having  found  him  a  certain  draw  as  I 
pictured  the  neophyte,  gifted  with  unrivalled  eloquence, 
seldom  having  time  for  his  food,  and  well-nigh  dying  of 
consumption.  He  is  saved,  in  the  nick  of  time,  by  the 
daughter  of  a  millionaire,  who,  having  found  that  he  has 
pawned  his  penultimate  suit,  whisks  him  off  to  the 
Riviera  and  is  later  united  to  him  at  St.  George's,  Han- 
over Square. 

"The  hospitals,  too,  brought  me  no  small  gain,  and 
some  of  my  nurses  are  considered  immortal.  In  spotless 
uniforms,  they  hung  over  the  patient  and  moistened  his 
lips,  preparatory  to  his  convalescence,  when  most  of 
them  felt  that  their  hearts  ached  with  an  unutterable 
void.  This  was  my  style,  though  from  time  to  time  I 
assumed  profound  learning,  until  I  was  called  'awfully 
deep,'  without  neglecting  the  ingredient  of  wonder  as  to 
what  it  all  meant,  or  how  it  would  end  in  the  last  chapter. 
I  regarded  work  as  vulgar,  and  nearly  all  my  subjects  had 
white  hands,  while  I  was  strong  on  suicides,  elopements, 
big  game  shooting,  and  a  few  other  distractions  which 
made  an  hour  pass  like  a  minute,  cheated  the  slow  train, 
and  beguiled  the  week-end.  Were  I  asked  what  I  did, 
I  should  find  it  difficult  to  answer,  having  been  no  advo- 
cate of  doing,  but  rather  of  dreaming  and  of  transform- 


138  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

ing  boresome  business  into  a  dolcefar  niente,  spent  in  a 
blossomed  bower. 

"All  this  secured  for  me  large  profits,  to  which  I  preten- 
ded complete  indifference,  being  far  removed,  in  the  eyes 
of  my  readers,  from  anything  so  banal  as  a  bank  balance. 
Yet  this  it  was  which  regulated  my  plans  and  about  which  I 
was  mainly  occupied  as  my  pen  flew  over  the  paper,  in- 
spired by  a  vision  of  wealth  and  indulgence  in  my  special 
foibles.  It  was  meat  and  drink  to  me  to  hear  myself 
talked  about,  and  if  I  chanced  upon  a  place  where  my 
books  were  not  the  vogue,  I  immediately  found  it  dull 
and  changed  my  quarters  for  a  more  appreciative  climate. 
Even  my  powers  fail  to  describe  my  self-centredness,  and 
there  was  a  fascination  in  my  prolific  productiveness 
which  defies  words. 

"Were  I  questioned  as  to  whether  I  had  a  shadow  of 
regret,  my  answer  would  be  in  the  negative,  so  inebriated 
was  I  with  the  thought  of  those  countless  volumes  which 
my  habit  was  to  turn  out  quarterly,  and  which,  after  a 
judicious  reclame,  attained  such  popularity  that  a  per- 
son was  reckoned  a  fool  if  he  had  not  perused  their  pages. 
At  this  moment,  instead  of  an  avowal,  which  I  believe 
was  the  primary  object  of  my  coming  here,  I  should  pre- 
fer to  fead  to  your  Lordship  some  of  my  most  moving 
and  exquisite  fancies,  dashed  off  when  the  muse  inspired 
me,  which  I  feel  sure  would  deeply  touch  even  a  serious 
person  like  yourself.  I  am  afraid  I  have  forgotten  such 
details  as  my  own  people,  for  I  made  a  point  of  burying 
all  humble  associations,  however  virtuous,  desiring  to  be 
known  under  a  name  which  I  refrain  from  mentioning, 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  139 

as  some  power  prevents  further  deception.  There  is  my 
confession,  if  it  deserves  to  be  so  called;  and  I  trust  that 
my  effusion  has  been  in  the  best  taste,  without  causing 
you  the  smallest  displeasure,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
contributing  a  graceful  diversion." 

The  advocate  was  hard  put  to  it  to  defend  this  darling 
of  the  lending  libraries.  Though  his  single  thought 
since  his  client's  birth  had  been  the  evolution  of  his  soul, 
he  felt  that  he  had  miserably  failed.  He  had  indeed 
done  his  best,  but  he  had  discovered  that  the  gods  them- 
selves depend  upon  reciprocity.  Constantly,  when  he 
had  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Sentimentalist's  heart,  he 
had  found  him  out,  until  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  at  home.  He  had  waited,  times 
without  number,  till  he  should  be  on  his  back,  or,  better 
still,  fail  in  one  of  his  productions,  but  he  was  always  re- 
markably well,  never  formed  the  centre-piece  of  a  tragedy, 
and  became,  increasingly,  a  proverb  for  endless  edi- 
tions. The  prisoner's  friend  was,  however,  equal  to 
the  occasion  because  of  the  love  in  his  heart,  and  nerved 
himself  to  plead  with  extra  vigour  by  reminding  himself 
that  his  subject  was  an  immortal  soul. 

"I  rise,  my  Lord,  to  crave  your  mercy,  though  not  to 
interfere  with  your  justice,  seeing  that  the  accused  is  to 
be  pitied  for  having  become  impervious  to  truth.  I,  who 
have  never  ceased  to  care  for  him,  find  it  hard  to  offer 
any  excuse  for  the  methods  of  his  life,  but  I  fearlessly 
maintain  that,  with  his  temperament,  the  result  was 
inevitable,  and  that  the  public  taste  in  demanding  what 
he  supplied  was  largely  to  blame.  My  contention  is 


140  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

that  no  one  was  compelled  to  read  him,  and  that  the  slope 
which  led  to  this  present  descent  was  made  dangerously 
easy  by  all  associated  with  the  transaction.  He  had  his 
better  moments,  and  I  have  known  him  cry  over  some  of 
his  own  books,  though  I  am  bound  to  own  that  it  never 
impaired  his  health. 

"The  most  lenient  view  of  his  conduct  is  that,  in  the 
process,  he  became  impregnated  with  the  hatefulness  of 
pain,  the  tedium  of  virtue,  and  the  discomfort  of  disci- 
pline, forces  not  only  helpful  but  necessary  to  the  forma- 
tion of  character.  My  client  never  intended  to  do 
positive  harm;  in  fact,  from  what  I  know  of  him,  he 
cannot  be  accused  of  having  had  any  intentions  at  all. 
Eaten  up  by  a  sense  of  self  which  became  a  monomania,  he 
wrote  not  so  much  to  amuse,  not  so  much  to  cause  a  thrill, 
as  to  be  in  the  public  eye,  and  your  Lordship  will  concede 
that,  when  this  obsession  arrives  at  a  certain  point,  its 
victim  is  incurable. 

"It  is  also  true  that  he  was  by  no  means  proof  against 
the  money  which  poured  in,  being  able  to  surround  him- 
self with  every  comfort,  to  adopt  aesthetic  tastes,  and  to 
pose  as  one  of  the  immortals.  I  rejoice,  for  his  sake,  that 
he  has  come  up  for  judgment,  since  there  remains  in  him 
much  which  might  become  great  if  transformed  by  the 
alchemy  of  hardship.  His  imagination  suggests  a  Catholi- 
cism and  knowledge  of  the  heart  which  your  Lordship 
will  not  throw  away,  and  I  pray  that  you  may  consider 
him  in  the  light  of  his  age,  so  that,  in  his  re-making,  your 
judgment  may  not  incline  to  the  side  of  harshness.  My 
longing  is  that  this  man,  whom  I  love  in  proportion 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  141 

to  his  need,  may  rise  as  a  phoenix  from  his  ashes  to  a 
nobler  purpose  and  to  a  cleaner  virility." 

The  Judge  looked  stern  but  sorrowful,  and  in  his  ques- 
tions to  the  accused  betrayed  surprise  at  the  arrest  of 
mental  development  in  a  race  thus  easily  gulled. 

"I  would  like  to  ask  whether  you  considered  the  effect 
of  your  rubbish  on  your  readers." 

"I  must  respectfully  demur  at  the  word  'rubbish,'  and 
as  I  was  a  slave  to  the  artistic  temperament,  it  goes  with- 
out saying  that  I  considered  no  one  else." 

"Were  you  conscious  of  the  insincerity  of  what  you 
called  your  'work'?" 

"To  be  frank,  I  was  unconscious  of  anything  except 
la  gloire,  and  the  pay." 

"Were  you  never  aware  of  the  untruth  with  which 
you  clothed  everything  you  touched,  producing  a  glam- 
our entirely  non-existent,  and  paralysing  the  energies  of 
your  patrons?" 

"I  regarded  reality  as  dull  and  bourgeois,  while  the 
term  working-man  jarred  on  my  nerves." 

"You  have  never  regretted  enervating  youth  and  thus 
helping  it  to  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  temptations  which 
it  was  bound  to  meet?  " 

"No,  indeed.  One  of  my  favourite  proverbs  was  that 
the  man  who  loves  not  wine,  woman,  and  song  remains  a 
fool  his  whole  life  long." 

"Did  you  know  anything  of  the  high  life  and  even 
royalty  which  you  so  often  described?  " 

"I  found  that  there  were  more  ways  than  one  of  getting 
accurate  information  on  the  subject,  and  that  at  no  great 


i42  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

cost.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  what  is  said  in  the 
chamber  can  be  published  on  the  housetop  —  for  a  con- 
sideration." 

"Were  you  never  staggered  at  the  waste  of  time  for 
which  you  were  answerable,  or  at  the  hours  spent  over 
the  worthless  folly  of  your  feuilletons?  " 

"I  have  already  said  that  this  was  nothing  to  me,  and 
it  was  not  my  affair  how  people  lived  or  how  people 
died." 

"I  suppose  it  did  not  come  home  to  you  that  you 
ruined  the  peace  of  many  a  home  and  perceptibly  added 
to  the  senselessness  of  your  generation?  " 

"So  long  as  I  scored  heavily,  I  refused  to  contemplate 
such  horrors,  which  I  failed  to  connect  in  the  remotest 
degree  with  my  efforts." 

"Did  you  ever  genuinely  love?  Did  your  heart  ever 
ache,  and  were  you  ever  carried  away,  to  the  loss  of  your- 
self, in  favour  of  another?  " 

"I  have  always  objected  to  intensity,  and  when  I  took 
to  myself  a  wife,  it  was  with  cool  deliberation,  being 
careful  that  she  should  have  both  title  and  income.  I 
was  not  in  the  least  ashamed  to  live  for  a  while  upon  her 
ladyship,  which  I  looked  on  as  paying  her  a  compli- 
ment." 

"Your  prayers  and  your  inner  life?" 

"I  preferred  a  religion  full  of  superstitions  and  legends, 
and  of  a  historic  past  associated  with  mysteries  and  pic- 
turesque worship,  with  the  least  possible  allusion  to 
ethics.  It  pleased  me,  and  I  missed  it  whenever  I  found 
myself  deprived  of  its  melodrama  and  warmth." 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  143 

"You  appear  to  have  been  unconscious  that  touching 
the  ark  might  bring  about  your  death." 

"  A  charming  story  that,  but  I  cannot  see  its  bearing 
on  the  present  day." 

"And  you  did  not  think  of  what  might  happen  to  your 
country  if  it  was  in  danger,  or  that  it  might  one  day  need 
all  the  grit  and  all  the  go  which  you  did  your  best  ruth- 
lessly to  destroy?" 

"I  confess  that  more  than  once  I  drew  such  a  picture, 
but  I  was  careful  so  to  fill  it  in  with  pomp  and  love  that 
fear  or  unrest  was  soon  forgotten." 

"I  presume  you  would  have  discarded  the  notion  of 
hell,  or  after  consequences  of  any  kind  as  following  a  life 
bereft  of  high  purpose  and  careless  of  ruin  in  its  train?  " 

"With  all  respect,  hell  is  a  word  which  is  erased  from 
polite  society;  and,  as  for  after  consequences,  my  ideas 
of  deity  amounted  to  a  floating  essence  in  which  lovers 
could  be  united  to  eternal  music,  wafted  from  ethereal 
spheres." 

At  last  the  Judge  .showed  manifest  signs  of  distress 
at  being  thus  defeated  in  his  attempt  to  extract  from 
the  Sentimentalist  one  shade  of  pathos. 

"I  have  vainly  tried,"  he  said,  "in  my  questions,  to 
furnish  the  gentlest  hint  of  the  damage  you  may  have 
done  in  your  passage  through  the  world.  I  would  now 
point  out  to  you  that  they  who  are  at  the  back  of  actions 
are  often  more  guilty  than  they  who  commit  them.  The 
responsibility  attaching  to  authorship  cannot  be  over- 
stated, and  that  pen,  which  in  other  hands  has  proved 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  the  world  has  ever  known, 


144  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

has  in  yours  been  the  reverse.  I  am  aware  of  the  piety 
with  which  your  books  were  interlarded,  I  know  of  the 
references  to  the  loftiest  and  purest  sentiments  with 
which  you  gilded  the  pill  before  it  was  taken.  I  grant 
you  had  a  touch  of  genius,  or  rather  a  rumble  wit,  and 
that  your  books  have  served  to  chase  away  many  a  dull 
hour,  but  your  sin  lies  in  not  caring  what  you  wrote 
compared  to  what  you  got.  Once  let  this  be  the  standard 
of  a  writer,  there  is  no  limit  to  the  curse  he  may  bring. 

"Your  crime  was  that  you  enervated  instead  of  brac- 
ing, that  you  tempted  instead  of  inspiring,  and  that 
you  supplied  a  series  of  mirages  which  misrepresented 
facts  to  the  peril  of  your  pupils.  You  made  men  glory 
in  sin  rather  than  loathe  it,  and  you  treated  women  as 
channels  of  their  indulgence  rather  than  ideals  by  which 
they  might  be  assisted  towards  better  and  higher  things. 
You  little  know  what  you  did  when  you  tampered  with 
the  young,  whom  you  should  have  stiffened  for  their 
campaign,  but  whom  you  did  your  utmost  to  render 
unfit  for  the  battle  before  them.  You  cheapened  sorrow 
and  reduced  love  to  a  sickening  sentiment  —  the  mother 
of  sloth  and  sensual  desire. 

"You  were  as  a  serpent  in  the  garden  of  the  world, 
enticing  it  to  eat  of  the  tree  in  its  midst  and,  without  a 
single  tear,  watching  men  and  women  as  they  were  driven 
from  Paradise.  You  dared  to  make  capital  out  of  the 
most  sacred  professions  and,  under  the  excuse  of  popular 
treatment,  you  brought  the  highest  places  into  disrepute. 
In  a  word,  you  made  sin  exceeding  easy,  and  virtue  ex- 
ceeding hard,  while  the  trivial  round  and  the  common 


THE  SENTIMENTALIST  145 

task  became  impossible  to  those  drugged  by  your  ro- 
mances. Believe  me,  there  are  thousands  living  to-day 
who  are  worse  because  you  sapped  their  energies,  roused 
their  passions,  and  rendered  them  indifferent  to  the  calls 
of  country. 

"The  result  of  such  influences  as  yours  is  that  climbing 
of  every  kind  is  at  a  discount,  and  that  the  education  of 
women,  in  the  face  of  the  finest  efforts,  is  frustrated. 
What  is  still  more  mischievous,  the  horror  of  it  will  be- 
come less  and  less  recognised  so  long  as  people  like  your- 
self write  as  if  man's  chief  interest  in  the  other  sex 
centred  round  the  harlot  or  the  heiress.  You  have  to 
learn  that  you  and  your  fellow  scribblers  do  much  to 
prevent  progress,  to  throttle  civic  aspirations,  and  to 
reproduce  the  spirit  of  the  harem  in  a  Teutonic  people. 
Herein  lies  the  deadliness  of  your  output,  and  it  is  hard 
to  use  words  too  strong  in  insisting  on  the  call  for  a 
tonic  if  the  Empire  about  which  you  ranted  is  to  be 
saved.  You  must  accept  it  from  me  that  your  life  has 
been  anything  but  a  kind  one.  nor  can  I  imagine  a  more 
terrible  punishment  than  one  day  awakening  to  the  fact 
that,  like  the  prophet  of  old,  you  have  for  love  of  gold 
betrayed  your  nation  by  rendering  it  a  prey  to  its  pas- 
sions and,  as  a  consequence,  to  its  enemies. 

"It  may  take  you  some  time  to  arrive  at  it,  but  you 
must  be  taught  that  sweet  poison  is  more  fatal  than  a 
revolver  shot,  and  that  no  man  has  the  right,  by  a  single 
word,  to  add  to  the  temptations  of  his  fellows,  who  have 
too  many  without  his  aid.  You  will  have  to  undergo 
a  course  of  hard  labour  till  you  discover  that  sentimen- 


146  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

talism  no  longer  comes  in.  Nothing  short  of  this  will 
get  into  you  the  fear  of  God  or  of  anything  else.  You 
will  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  for  action,  when  you 
will  shudder  at  the  poetic  as  unable  to  see  you  through 
the  hour  of  stress.  That  stress  must  last  till  you  have 
ceased  to  employ  as  a  scapegoat  the  odious  excuse  of 
your  artistic  temperament.  The  very  term  shall  be- 
come an  abomination  to  you  when  you  have  discovered 
that  it  is  viler  than  straightforward  yieldings  to  nature. 
In  its  stead  you  shall,  in  your  cell,  make  acquaintance 
with  true  romance,  and  with  the  vastness  of  the  field 
which  is  calling  for  imagination,  tempered  by  trial,  to 
engage  in  the  highest  service.  You  shall  find  that  you 
were  not  born  in  vain,  and  that  no  novel  half  so  enthusing 
has  ever  been  written  as  the  volume,  unsoiled  by  amo- 
rous suggestion,  which  you  shall  yet  produce. 

"There  will  steal  into  your  heart  by  degrees  a  new 
patriotism  which  will  cause  you  to  long  for  your  coun- 
try's good.  You  shall  learn  through  sorrow  that  she 
needs  men  strong,  clean,  vigorous,  pious,  and  women 
chaste,  tender,  useful,  devout,  if  the  honour  of  her  homes 
is  to  be  preserved.  You  may  fall  many  times,  but  in 
the  long  run  you  shall  win.  When  you  have  achieved 
manliness  and  modesty,  into  your  hands  shall  once  more 
be  put  your  pen,  with  which  you  shall  strive  to  cancel 
your  previous  trifling.  You  shall  make  it  a  rule  with- 
out exception  to  write  only  such  stories  as  go  to  the 
breeding  of  heroes  and  heroines.  You  will  find  your- 
self outworn  by  each  effort,  however  small,  and  the 
writer  shall  be  anonymous,  but  his  work  shall  be  strong." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   BOOKMAKER 

THERE  was  nothing  about  him  to  betray  his  call- 
ing, and  he  might  have  been  taken  for  a  most  re- 
spectable gentleman  who  regularly  attended  his 
chapel  and  was  a  pattern  of  benevolence.  Closer  in- 
spection revealed  a  sinister  look  which  created  suspicion, 
making  it  difficult  to  imagine  how  he  could  elicit  sym- 
pathy on  the  part  of  him  who  was  to  conduct  the  trial. 
Here  again,  as  in  other  instances,  the  impression  grew 
that,  so  long  as  people  were  chiefly  their  own  enemies, 
they  were  subjects  for  boundless  compassion,  but  that 
the  worst  were  those  who,  from  the  vantage  ground  of 
safety,  tempted  others  to  their  destruction.  Compared 
with  this  offence  weakness  became  insignificant,  and  the 
chasm  between  sin  and  wickedness  was  self-evident. 
The  absurdity  of  portraying  Satan  as  an  object  of  ab- 
horrence speaks  for  itself,  nor  would  his  victims  be  so 
numerous  if  they  could  discern  his  approach.  The 
present  instance  was  a  case  in  point,  and  it  was  not  sur- 
prising that  many  should  fall  into  the  toils  of  this  bland 
but  pestilential  individual. 

The  Bookmaker  was  suavity  itself,  and  unmoved  by 
the  smallest  qualms  of  a  conscience  which  had  long  been 

147 


i48  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

seared.  The  thought  of  judgment  was  foreign  to  his 
nature,  the  sense  of  right  and  wrong  having  been  done 
to  death  by  a  combination  of  good-fellowship  and  craft, 
preventing  penitence.  All  efforts  failed  to  detect  the 
weak  point  in  his  harness  through  which  an  arrow  from 
the  Judge  might  find  its  way.  One  was  more  than  usually 
thrown  back  on  infinite  Love  as  alone  able  to  change  the 
hard  rock  into  flowing  water. 

The  entrance  of  the  Judge  being  delayed,  possibly  by 
design,  the  accused  began,  in  spite  of  himself,  to  turn 
things  over  in  his  mind,  thus  illustrating  the  value  of 
solitary  confinement  for  a  certain  type  of  prisoner.  The 
isolation  evidently  told  on  the  Bookmaker,  and  the 
stillness  presented  an  unendurable  contrast  to  the  shout- 
ing of  the  odds  amid  the  flare  of  the  race-course.  All 
his  self-confidence  gone  through  the  process  of  thought, 
alarm  took  possession  of  him.  By  the  time  the  Judge 
came  in  terror  was  written  on  his  face,  and  he  wore  the 
look  of  a  man  who  had  staked  his  all  on  the  wrong  horse 
and  lost,  with  nothing  but  black  ruin  before  him.  The 
Judge  was  gracious  as  ever,  though  no  one  could  have 
mistaken  the  difference  when  he  had  to  deal  with  cases 
calculated  to  evoke  his  sterner  side.  Not  that  he  was 
not  kindness  itself  as  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  break- 
ing a  heart  which  he  intended  to  heal,  but  only  the  in- 
itiated could  foresee  the  line  he  was  likely  to  take. 

"I  rise,"  the  Bookmaker  said  without  any  prelimi- 
naries, "to  state  my  case,  from  no  desire  to  make  an  elab- 
orate confession,  but  solely  because  I  find  myself  in  a 
Court  of  Justice  from  which  I  cannot  escape.  Till  now 


THE  BOOKMAKER  149 

it  has  never  meant  for  me  more  than  the  payment  of  a 
trifling  fine;  and,  if  you  expect  me  to  express  sorrow  for 
what  I  have  done,  I  fail  to  see  where  regret  comes  in. 
What  I  say  is  that  there  is  nothing  like  sport,  that  horse- 
racing  is  an  honourable  institution,  and  that  the  man 
who  does  not  patronise  it  or  liquor  is  no  patriot.  To  my 
thinking  the  country  would  soon  be  ruined  without  it, 
and  I  am  glad  to  know  that  among  my  clients  I  not  only 
numbered  the  nobility  and  gentry  but  could  go  higher 
still  if  I  cared  to  show  my  books.  I  don't  suppose  that 
even  you  would  say  there  was  any  harm  in  having  '  a  bit 
on/  and  the  whole  fun  lies  in  the  uncertainty.  Again, 
what  I  say  is  that  it  is  a  grand  sight  to  see  thousands  en- 
joying themselves  in  the  open  air,  watching  a  struggle 
between  as  noble  creatures  as  God  ever  made,  but  still 
more  taking  their  pleasure  in  making  bets,  with  good 
cheer  and  fair  women  thrown  in.  I  don't  see  how  a  man 
could  improve  on  it,  and  it  would  be  a  crime  and  a  shame 
if  betting  were  put  down. 

"Not  that  I  used  to  bet  myself;  I  was  a  family  man 
and  had  my  own  to  look  after.  When  I  stood  under  my 
umbrella,  you  may  take  my  word  I  was  as  sober  as  a 
judge,  though  I  liked  to  hear  the  corks  popping  and  to 
feel  that  things  were  fairly  humming.  Naturally  this 
made  for  trade,  and  when  I  returned  of  an  evening,  con- 
tent with  the  net  result  (though  I  had  my  bad  days  like 
other  people),  I  slept  like  a  child  and  looked  forward  to 
the  next  meeting.  I  took  a  real  pride  in  my  home,  and 
congratulate  myself  on  having  added  largely  to  it  since 
I  got  on,  but  at  first  it  was  a  poor  game,  and  I  had  to  do 


150  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

many  things  which  I  would  not  have  stooped  to  later. 
Once  on  your  feet,  it  is  wonderful  how  you  can  keep  your- 
self respectable,  and  even  do  a  bit  of  good  by  the  way,  so 
that  again  I  say  that  horse-racing  is  a  noble  sport  and, 
if  every  one  has  to  live  somehow,  this  is  about  as  good  a 
way  as  I  can  imagine.  Why,  I  knew  our  minister  well, 
and  his  wife  and  mine  were  the  best  of  friends,  since  of 
course  I  shut  off  my  public  life  when  the  day  was  done, 
and,  if  anything  was  needed  in  the  parish,  I  was  not  the 
last  to  subscribe.  I  was  always  strong  about  keeping 
Sunday,  which  I  looked  on  as  part  of  the  Tory  consti- 
tution, so  I  closed  my  accounts  on  Saturday  night  and 
didn't  believe  in  making  it  a  day  of  business. 

"I  know  this  sounds  a  contradiction,  but  there  it  is, 
and  you  must  take  me  as  I  am.  I  could  never  have  be- 
come the  success  I  proved  to  be  if  I  had  not  been  a  care- 
ful man,  and  if  I  had  myself  been  a  prey  to  the  excitement 
through  which  I  steadily  built  up  my  fortune.  I  don't 
mind  owning,  that  when  I  talk  in  this  strain  I  begin  to  feel 
more  uncomfortable  than  I  ever  have  before,  but  you 
see  it  is  all  new  to  me,  and  so  long  as  I  can  remember  I 
have  had  no  time  to  think,  or,  if  I  had,  I  tried  to  square 
my  conscience  by  religious  observances  and  by  kidding 
myself  that  I  did  no  injury  to  any  one.  Do  to  others  as 
you  would  be  done  by,  say  I,  which  is  a  better  sermon 
than  you  hear  preached  by  most  parsons.  The  odd  thing 
is  that  none  of  my  youngsters  have  ever  been  on  a  race- 
course, nor  ever  shall,  though  how  I  reconcile  that  fact 
with  all  I  said  about  sport  I  cannot  explain.  The  world 
is  a  queer  place,  and  I  expect,  if  the  truth  were  known, 


THE  BOOKMAKER  151 

most  of  us  are  a  bit  of  a  mixture.  If  I  could  once  have 
seen  the  wrong  of  it,  I  believe  I  should  have  been  the  first 
to  give  it  up,  but  where  would  have  been  the  good  of 
making  such  a  promise  after  the  interest  on  my  capital 
gave  me  enough  to  live  on?  If  I  had  my  way,  though, 
I  should  stop  betting  among  the  poorer  classes,  but  for 
those  who  have  the  money  to  throw  away,  I  cannot  as 
yet  understand  why  it  is  bad,  and  if  you  can  make  this 
clear  to  me  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favour. 

"The  fact  is  that  my  life  was  more  of  a  routine  than 
outsiders  would  believe,  until  I  became  so  artful,  without 
exactly  deceiving,  that  I  could  reckon  on  my  earnings 
each  year  within  a  few  hundreds.  Excuse  my  remarking 
that,  though  you  have  not  said  a  word,  you,  as  it  were, 
put  me  out  of  countenance,  and  I  hardly  like  to  own  to 
the  real  motive  which  prompted  me  and  which  your 
silence  seems  to  invite.  You  see  my  great  desire  was  to 
build  up  a  family,  and  I  had  what  is  called  the  hoarding 
instinct.  I  cannot  quite  say  where  I  got  it  from,  except 
that  I  had  the  Jew  in  my  blood,  but  we  have  been  Chris- 
tians for  some  time  and,  though  my  father  did  happen  to 
keep  a  public  house,  he  was  a  staunch  teetotaler.  I 
never  had  much  book-learning,  which  I  hated,  but  I  saw 
that  I  could  do  better  on  the  turf,  so  I  began  by  degrees, 
needless  to  say  under  another  name.  It  came  to  me 
naturally,  and  I  liked  the  company  into  which  it  brought 
me,  for  it  gratified  me  to  rub  shoulders  with  the  noblest 
in  the  land.  As  for  the  young  ones  who  plunged  rather 
heavily  and  were  not  able  to  pay,  I  made  it  a  rule  not  to 
be  too  lenient  with  them,  as  I  had  been  taught  to  be  a 


152  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

great  believer  in  honesty,  and  it  was  bad  for  them  to  be 
let  off  too  easily.  Besides,  you  always  found  that  there 
was  something  they  could  raise  money  on  to  save  their 
good  name,  and,  if  they  were  reduced  to  it,  they  could 
pick  up  an  heiress  and  recover  that  way.  If  you  look 
into  it,  it  is  not  exactly  fine,  and  it  gets  worse  every  mo- 
ment as  it  grows  plainer.  Sometimes,  on  settling  day, 
my  heart  would  nearly  break  at  the  stories  I  had  to  listen 
to,  but  it  was  a  comfort  to  see  my  bank  balance  growing 
and  to  feel  that  I  could  send  my  boys  to  one  of  the  best 
public  schools  where  they  would  be  able  to  hold  their 
own  and,  in  after  years,  to  hobnob  with  the  aristocracy. 
"My  girls,  also,  were  extra  pretty,  and  I  knew  toe 
much  of  life  to  doubt  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  get 
them  well  placed;  this  made  me  the  Bookmaker  I  was,  till 
I  became  a  proverb  for  a  good  heart  coupled  with  per- 
fect integrity.  Still,  I  had  to  be  careful,  which  is  why  I 
kept  humble  and  remained  a  Dissenter,  but  my  children 
seemed  terribly  struck  with  the  Church  and  it  was 
grand  to  hear  them  talking  of  its  traditions,  though  I 
fancy  my  own  forebears  could  have  quoted  longer  ones. 
This  is  by  the  way,  but  if  I  have  not  filled  up  the  spaces 
it  is  because  I  prefer  limiting  myself  to  the  outline,  and 
the  shading  is  dark  enough.  But  you  will  allow  that  it 
is  something  to  found  a  name,  to  leave  the  world  further 
on  than  your  parents,  and  to  think  of  your  descendants 
as  one  day  in  the  enclosure  without  knowing,  as  I  trust 
they  never  may,  that  their  ancestor  shouted,  'Two  to 
one,  bar  one.'  (Here  the  Bookmaker  evidently  for- 
got, in  favour  of  social  success,  his  diatribe  against  racing 


THE  BOOKMAKER  153 

for  his  own.)  This  is  my  position,  and  how  can  I  com- 
plain when  I  have  done  so  well,  and  when  there  is  not  a 
corner  in  my  life  which  I  have  not  so  arranged  that  no  one 
may  be  able  to  throw  a  stone,  except,  of  course,  a  few 
who  never  would,  as  it  would  mean  exposing  themselves? 

"Your  face  asks  me  how  I  can  bear  the  thought  of 
what  I  have  left  behind,  but,  to  be  frank,  the  only  thing 
that  occurs  to  me  is  the  amount  of  money  I  have  saved. 
Much  as  I  should  like  to  feel  that  blessed  pity  which  I 
hold  shows  man  at  his  best,  it  is  useless  to  say  I  do,  else 
I  should  have  to  give  the  whole  lot  back,  and  then  where 
would  my  children  be?  The  boys  at  the  board  school 
and  the  girls  going  out  to  service!  Don't  be  too  hard 
on  me,  then,  for  God's  sake,  don't  be  too  hard,  for  I  have 
had  a  fairly  bad  time  already,  and  there  was  hell  enough 
on  the  turf,  though  to  men  like  me  it  became  our  only 
heaven.  Yet  before  I  sit  down  let  me  admit  that  I 
would  rather  be  one  person  than  any  favour  you  could 
grant  me,  and  that  one  person  respected,  straightforward, 
with  a  pile  of  money  to  give  away.  What  I  long  for 
most  of  all  is  to  be  able  to  express  my  love  with  my  real 
name  attached  (which  I  have  written  on  a  slip  of  paper) , 
and  that  it  should  be  done  under  the  auspices  of  the 
religion  which  I  have  denied,  and  the  denial  of  which 
is  my  worst  shame." 

The  advocate  felt  that  he  was  dealing  with  a  gigantic 
evil,  the  more  fatal  because  officially  sanctioned  and 
effectively  disguised.  He  recognised,  no  man  better, 
the  opposite  poles  in  the  character  of  the  prisoner,  who 
had  often  admitted  him  to  his  company,  though  he  had 


iS4  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

seldom  taken  his  advice.  He  was  moved  by  the  impera- 
tive need  of  humanity  to  get  outside  of  itself,  and  by  the 
sardonic  fact  that  the  most  successful  traders  on  this 
score  were  those  who  took  special  care  not  to  give  way 
to  it.  Had  the  Bookmaker  been  a  drunkard,  or  immoral, 
or  a  gambler,  his  task  would  have  been  a  simpler  one. 
He  was  oppressed  by  the  knowledge  that  the  heads  of 
this  profession  represented  a  phlegmatic  considered  sys- 
tem which,  with  a  hellish  aspect  of  harmlessness,  cast 
an  organised  network  over  the  whole  community.  He 
mentally  saw  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  Europe  defiled 
by  the  same  cunning,  followed  by  a  vision  of  the  votaries 
of  fashion  caught  in  the  same  web,  down  to  the  lowest 
gambling  den  in  every  capital.  He  was  thinking  of  the 
touts  in  the  streets,  the  factory  girls  tempted  to  risk 
their  pence,  and  the  innumerable  idiots  who,  without 
knowing  the  end  of  a  horse,  hoped  to  make  a  coup  with- 
out work,  emptied  the  till,  cheated  their  masters,  broke 
a  wife's  heart,  ended  behind  the  bars,  or  made  a  hole  in 
the  river  through  remorse.  He  then  glanced  at  this 
model  of  correctness  in  the  dock,  whom  he  classed  with 
the  charming  croupier  in  his  immaculate  dress  suit.  Yet 
he  did  not  forget  the  other  side  of  the  picture  and  much 
in  the  Bookmaker  which  afforded  a  plea  in  his  defence. 
He  realised,  as  only  they  who  love  can,  that  this  man 
had  not  intended  a  tithe  of  the  evil  he  had  caused. 
He  took  into  consideration  that  he  was  extraordinarily 
ignorant,  however  cute,  and  that  his  middle-class  nature, 
without  any  actual  villainy,  laid  him  open  to  wiles  which 
it  was  beyond  him  to  perceive. 


THE  BOOKMAKER  155 

"I  am  moved,  my  Lord,"  said  the  advocate,  "to 
plead  for  the  prisoner  by  a  strong  sense  of  duty  and  of 
sorrow  for  the  obtuseness  which  made  it  possible  for 
such  a  character  to  adopt  such  a  career.  I  have  long 
been  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  him,  but,  try  as  I  would, 
could  never  bring  him  to  face  the  anomaly  of  his  heart 
and  conduct.  Sociability,  which  was  his  special  feature, 
conduced  to  his  popularity  among  those  who  allowed 
him  to  fleece  them.  What  impresses  me  most,  and  it 
must  mean  still  more  to  your  Lordship,  is  the  impulse 
the  accused  has  given  to  a  tendency  inherent  in  some 
of  the  most  gifted  of  the  race.  I  refer  to  the  distortion 
of  that  quality  of  abandonment  without  which  few  great 
things  have  been  achieved,  and  apart  from  which  most 
high  endeavour  would  be  unknown. 

"The  history  of  the  prisoner  is  fraught  with  sadness, 
and  he  has  related  it  with  an  ingenuousness  which  an- 
ticipates much  I  might  have  said  on  his  behalf.  With 
Semitic  tendencies  strong  in  him,  his  nature  would 
appear  to  have  been  warped  by  previous  treachery  to 
that  grandest  of  creeds,  so  that  he  seems  to  have  re- 
tained many  of  the  worst  characteristics  of  his  nation, 
while  discarding  the  rules  and  the  reverence  prominent 
in  its  best  exponents.  He  was  therefore  a  religious  man 
without  being  religious,  and  the  root  of  the  evil  lay  in 
his  continuing  the  cowardice  which  influenced  those  be- 
fore him  to  profess  belief  in  the  Crucified  because  He 
had  become  the  fashion  of  the  day.  To  please  all  men 
became  his  object  and,  in  the  end,  his  snare,  for  he  soon 
slipped  into  ingratiating  himself  for  his  own  purposes. 


156  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

He  had  a  natural  leaning  towards  bedizenment,  though 
he  made  a  rule  of  avoiding  diamonds,  but  the  Shylock 
in  him  was  unable  to  resist  the  passion  for  speculation. 

"He  did  not  for  one  instant  regard  betting  as  a  crime; 
his  great  idea  was  to  build  up  a  fortune,  which  he  looked 
on  as  a  sign  of  the  Divine  favour,  in  the  same  way  as 
the  patriarchs  treated  an  increase  in  their  flocks  or 
herds.  For  his  actions  I  have  no  extenuating  words, 
being  aghast  at  the  self-deception  of  which  men  may 
become  capable,  but,  since  my  office  is  to  call  attention 
to  the  best  in  my  client,  I  boldly  assert  that  there  has 
seldom  been  a  better  husband  or  a  better  father  than 
the  prisoner.  His  devotion  to  the  memory  of  his  par- 
ents was  admirable,  and  so  generously  inclined  was  he, 
that  no  wonder  the  minister  found  him  to  be  a  good 
man  and  more  charitable  than  many  in  his  congregation 
otherwise  employed.  Reason  tells  me  that  the  accused 
will  have  to  undergo  a  heavy  sentence,  but  I  would  ask 
you  to  accommodate  it  to  his  moral  vision.  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  your  Lordship's  object  is  to  restore  the  true 
man  which  flourished  at  his  hearth,  but  was  withered  by 
his  contact  with  the  world." 

The  Judge  listened  to  both  prisoner  and  advocate 
with  rapt  attention,  it  being  evident  that  the  subtlety  of 
the  situation  had  not  escaped  him.  You  could  not  but 
feel  that  he  would  willingly  have  risked  his  life  not  only 
for  his  friends  but  for  the  many,  though  he  would  have 
stamped  as  selfish  a  similar  venture  made  for  sheer 
sensation.  He  addressed  the  Bookmaker  with  a  respect 
increased  by  his  advocate's  statement  of  the  case,  though 


THE  BOOKMAKER  157 

it  made  his  comments  the  more  cutting  in  dealing  with 
the  occupation  to  which  the  accused  had  been  devoted. 

"Considering  your  kindness  of  heart,"  he  said,  "did 
you  never  picture  to  yourself  the  havoc  you  caused  in 
countless  homes,  whilst  so  attached  to  your  own?" 

"I  can't  say  I  did;  it  all  came  under  the  heading  of 
business." 

"Were  you  not  struck  by  the  lowness  of  the  surround- 
ings of  a  race-course,  which  would  never  obtain  save  for 
speculation  in  some  form  or  other?" 

"I  disliked  it  extremely  and,  as  I  became  better  known, 
I  kept  more  aloof  from  it.  But  I  argue  that  human  na- 
ture is  human  nature,  and  things  are  working  themselves 
out  somehow." 

"Did  you  feel  any  remorse  over  those  mere  boys  whom 
you  deliberately  sent  to  perdition,  while  you  flattered 
them  with  an  obsequiousness  beyond  words,  until  you 
got  them  into  your  clutches?" 

"Now  and  then,  before  I  had  been  long  at  it,  but  cus- 
tom deadens,  and  soon  I  never  gave  it  a  thought." 

"How  far  do  you  reckon  that  the  patronage  of  the 
great  had  a  share  in  making  you  the  public  curse  which 
you  became?" 

"It  went  a  good  way  and  helped  to  banish  any  sense 
of  sin,  provided  it  could  be  conducted  so  pleasantly." 

"Did  it  never  strike  you  that  their  women-kind  were 
imbibing  the  same  spirit  and  were  insensibly  becoming 
harder  and  more  brutal  in  proportion  as  they  were  defy- 
ing their  gentler  nature?" 

"Yes,  it  did  come  over  me,  and  that  is  the  part  that 


158  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

revolted  me,  but  it  became  evident  that,  save  for  their 
presence,  our  best  meetings  would  have  been  almost 
empty." 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  were  not  stung 
when  you  saw  some  young  girl  make  her  first  bet  and 
knew  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  she  was  on 
the  slant  downwards,  till  one  day  no  true  womanhood 
would  be  left?" 

"I  did  feel  all  that,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  beautiful 
face  and  a  real  lady;  but  if  you  ask  me  such  pointed  ques- 
tions, I  shall  begin  to  think  myself  akin  to  a  murderer, 
which  is  the  last  thing  I  contemplated." 

"Did  you  realise  that  betting  has  a  lurid  side,  that  it 
is  the  enemy  of  the  sport  which  it  affects,  that  from  the 
highest  it  percolates  to  the  lowest,  that  the  press  is 
poisoned  by  it,  that  women  congregate  together  to  gloat 
over  the  turn  of  a  card,  that  men  are  frenzied  by  the 
wine  of  it  till  they  care  for  no  living  soul  on  earth,  that 
the  boys  who  play  pitch  and  toss  in  the  streets  are 
qualifying  for  criminals,  and  that,  once  this  thing  has 
become  a  habit,  honour  disappears  and  the  fall  only  de- 
pends on  the  strength  of  the  trial?" 

"Now  that  you  say  so  I  know  that  every  word  is  true, 
but  the  fear  of  the  Lord  would  have  prevented  me  from 
doing  such  things  myself,  and  God  knows  I  never  asso- 
ciated my  calling  with  this  general  disaster." 

"Do  you  know  so  little  of  life  as  not  to  understand 
that  the  gambler  and  the  devotee  have  a  common  long- 
ing for  infinity  which  lands  its  victims  in  heaven  or  hell?  " 

"You  are  getting  too  deep  for  me,  and  in  my  old  re- 


THE  BOOKMAKER  159 

ligion  this  was  hardly  known.  I  have  heard  it  spoken 
of  about  the  best  Jew  who  ever  lived,  but  surely  you 
paint  matters  a  bit  too  black,  and  there  is  a  lighter  aspect 
which  helps  to  pass  the  time  and  gives  a  flip  to  things 
otherwise  shockingly  monotonous." 

"I  notice  this  is  the  excuse  you  all  use,  but  it  is  not 
in  the  least  true  and  is  never  quoted  by  the  sufferers 
themselves,  at  least  before  their  convalescence.  Tell 
me  whether,  if  you  had  the  chance  of  returning  whence 
you  came,  you  would  continue  as  you  were  before?" 

"  I  doubt  whether  I  should  feel  the  harm  of  it  for  long, 
and  I  should  be  drawn  back  into  the  vortex,  whatever 
resolves  I  might  make." 

"How  so,  after  hearing  all  that  is  involved?" 

"Your  presence  and  your  charm  have  changed  my 
point  of  view  for  the  moment,  but  it  would  not  last  if  I 
were  alone  for  any  length  of  time.  My  only  chance  is 
to  keep  entirely  quit  of  it,  seeing  that  it  would  be  a 
much  more  deadly  thing  to  revert  after  my  eyes  have 
been  opened." 

"Does  not  your  heart  ache  now,  or  even  if  you  are 
still  a  prey  to  this  inclining,  would  you  not  do  all  in  your 
power  to  minimise  it?  " 

"Indeed  I  would,  but  I  must  become  altered  myself, 
and  I  leave  it  to  you,  in  whom  I  feel  some  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  ancient  teachings  against  which  I  have  rebelled, 
but  which  I  secretly  admire,  to  solve  the  problem  of 
my  reforming." 

"You  are  too  conscious,"  said  the  Judge,  "of  the 
discrepancy  between  your  religion  and  the  ruin  which 


160  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

you  have  effected  to  need  any  words  of  rebuke  from  me. 
After  your  own  exposure,  the  speech  of  your  advocate, 
and  your  replies  to  my  questions,  it  is  unnecessary  for 
me  to  point  out  either  the  extent  or  the  horror  of  the 
gambling  spirit,  whatever  form  it  may  take.  The  crime 
of  your  calling  consists  in  the  fostering  of  one  of  the 
worst  instincts  in  men,  resultant  in  a  callous  selfishness 
deserving  of  the  strongest  reproof.  Those  who  take 
advantage  of  this  tendency  are  bound  to  endure  much 
tribulation  before  they  find  their  soul.  Whether  they 
themselves  are  remote  from  the  scene  or  not  makes 
little  difference,  and  just  so  far  as  they  evade  the  obloquy 
of  direct  methods,  must  their  penalty  be  increased.  The 
man  who  tempts  another  to  this  thing  is  doing  a  deadly- 
injury,  which  becomes  worse  when  a  woman  is  the  sub- 
ject of  his  scheming.  That  laws  should  be  passed  to 
make  it  more  difficult  is  obvious,  but  it  has  always  been 
held  in  this  Court  that  no  change  takes  place  until  voli- 
tion is  affected.  Sin  cannot  be  eradicated  by  compul- 
sion, and  until  individuals  learn  the  true  object  of 
adventure,  they  will  never  become  free  of  this  impulse, 
which  is  alone  possible  through  its  consecration. 

"For  yourself,  I  understand  your  lack  of  understand- 
ing; and  the  true  part  of  you,  which  is  the  domestic  side, 
shall  by  degrees  permeate  your  being.  The  vulgarity 
of  your  design  is  tempered  by  love  for  your  offspring, 
who  were  its  object;  and,  when  I  consider  the  example  of 
those  among  whom  your  lot  was  cast  and  who  ought  to 
have  known  better,  my  decision  is  disarmed  of  vindic- 
tiveness.  Your  sympathy  has  made  you  suffer  already 


THE  BOOKMAKER  161 

on  this  count,  but  this  is  nothing  to  the  tortures  you 
will  have  to  endure.  You  must  painfully  grope  your 
way  back  to  the  religion  which  you  secretly  love  and 
which  ideally  insists  that  each  should  have  a  trade  and 
that  none  should  give  their  money  on  usury  or  take 
reward  against  the  innocent.  When  this  truth  has  be- 
come your  own,  you  will  regret  the  course  you  took 
through  your  blindness,  and  you  will  value  no  gold  save 
that  which  you  have  acquired  through  the  sweat  of 
your  brow,  though  you  will  glory  in  sharing  it  with  the 
hungry,  never  turning  your  face  from  any  poor  man. 
Till  then  you  must  needs  be  unhappy,  but  I  cannot  re- 
lieve you  of  your  burden,  nor  would  I  if  I  could,  since 
such  a  purgatory  affords  the  only  source  of  subsequent 
peace. 

"When  you  have  learned  this  you  will  become  a 
champion  of  your  own  creed,  but  you  will  find  that  all, 
except  a  minority,  will  refuse  to  listen  to  you  and  will,  as 
now,  insult  the  faith  which  you  shall  adopt  in  its  original 
intention.  I  dismiss  you,  full  of  love  on  your  behalf,  and 
assured  that  I  am  outlining  for  you  the  only  course 
which  can  ever  bring  you  rest.  The  result  shall  be  a 
single  person.  You  shall  never  again  tempt  another,  but 
shall  gamble  away  your  best  in  following  the  footsteps  of 
the  Noblest  of  your  race,  who  staked  Himself  to  win 
the  world.  When  you  deserve  it,  you  shall  be  known  by 
your  old  name  as  a  restorer  instead  of  destroyer  of 
ancient  landmarks  among  the  chosen  people." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  PARASITE 

A  I  INSIPID  and  restless  person  came  into  the 
Court.  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  tell  her 
age,  which  evidently  had  been  the  same  for  a 
long  time,  and  she  brought  with  her  a  monotony  that 
was  abroad  before  she  opened  her  lips.  She  was  passa- 
bly well  dressed,  and  among  her  ornaments  might  be 
noticed  a  cross  dangling  harmlessly  on  a  chain.  She  had 
attended  so  many  meetings  that  the  present  one  hardly 
affected  her,  though  she  anticipated  something  out  of 
the  common,  as  hitherto  she  had  evaded  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  collision  with  truth.  Not  that  she  was  not 
pleasant  and  more  than  ordinarily  refined,  but  she  gave 
the  impression  of  being  faded  and  of  having  sampled 
all  the  sensations  without  having  dared  to  feel  one  of 
them. 

She  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  to  the  next  meeting,  though 
where  it  was  she  did  not  exactly  know,  but  she  was  sure 
it  was  somewhere,  and  that  among  the  speakers  were  one 
or  two  who  were  bound  to  be  original.  This  very  busy 
woman  was  nothing  if  not  eccentric,  as  she  lived  in  a 
society  dependent  on  drugs  labelled  "delightful  and  not  in 
the  least  dangerous."  She  played  with  what  she  called 

162 


THE  PARASITE  163 

her  reticule,  then  gazed  round  to  see  if  any  one  was  look- 
ing, and  wondered  when  the  others  would  arrive.  But 
when  she  found  she  had  come  to  a  stock-taking  alto- 
gether different  from  the  sales  she  haunted,  she  didn't 
like  it  a  bit,  and  would  have  had  an  attack  of  hysteria, 
but  there  was  no  one  to  carry  her  out.  She  took  refuge 
in  studying  snippets,  of  which  she  seemed  to  have  an  in- 
exhaustible supply,  and  a  smile  passed  over  her  face  as 
she  came  across  one  more  than  usually  chic  or  unortho- 
dox. 

The  affair  was  rapidly  growing  uncanny,  till  she  made  up 
her  mind  that  she  was  going  to  assist  at  a  seance,  and  that 
some  of  "those  dear  spooks"  would  soon  appear.  The 
most  exacting  critic  would  have  been  moved  by  a  con- 
dition so  defenceless,  so  prevalent,  and  so  eloquent  of 
uselessness.  At  last  she  looked  up  and,  when  she  saw 
the  Judge,  was  terrified,  for  his  face  suggested  to  her 
One  of  Whom  she  had  chattered  for  years,  but  Whom 
she  knew  less  than  did  His  enemies.  If  she  had  had 
time,  she  would  have  got  an  introduction  from  some  of 
her  innumerable  friends  who  were  intimate  with  him,  but 
the  horror  of  the  situation  was  that  she  was  totally  on 
her  own,  and  was  being  driven  to  some  decision,  which  was 
truly  dreadful.  Added  to  this,  she  was  impelled  to  take 
the  initiative,  a  most  indelicate  proceeding,  as  previously 
she  had  never  got  further  than  making  one  of  an  audi- 
ence and  writing  countless  letters  about  what  had  oc- 
curred. 

"I  feel  so  shy,"  she  began,  "and  I  didn't  at  all  like 
coming  here  alone,  but  my  maid  was  not  ready,  so  I  had 


164  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

to  take  the  plunge,  and  here  I  am.  Not  that  I  am  actu- 
ally shy,  for  I  can  cackle  to  my  heart's  content  if  there 
is  any  scandal  going  on,  or  about  things  that  do  not  really 
count,  but  I  am  beginning  to  be  most  uncomfortable,  and 
if  it  goes  on  much  longer  like  this,  I  know  that  I  shall 
famt.  I  can't  precisely  make  out  what  I  have  to  tell 
you,  but  if  you  will  kindly  correct  me  when  I  am  wrong,  I 
will  try  to  recite  a  sort  of  diary  of  my  life,  that  is  to  say, 
if  it  won't  worry  you.  I  should  be  so  much  happier  if 
I  were  talking  to  our  Vicar,  who  is  also  my  director.  He 
thoroughly  understands  me,  and  for  the  last  twenty 
years  I  have  discussed  all  manner  of  interesting  ques- 
tions with  him  during  a  whole  hour  once  a  week,  but  I 
never  kept  him  longer  than  that,  because  he  was  such  a 
busy  man. 

"He  had  to  do  with  dreadful  things  and  used  to  tell  me 
stories  sometimes  that  made  my  flesh  creep,  which  was 
delightful.  I  wonder  whether  you  have  ever  been  to 
his  church,  but  I  cannot  recall  your  face  there.  You 
would  like  it  immensely.  I  never  missed  a  chance 
when  he  was  present,  though  I  invariably  slipped  out 
when  he  wasn't  preaching.  I  felt  so  anxious  when  he 
had  a  bad  cold,  and  at  the  end  of  Lent  he  was  so  white 
and  drawn  that  he  looked  like  a  piece  of  paper  with  an 
aureole  round  it,  but  he  said  the  most  beautiful  things, 
though  I  am  afraid  I  can't  remember  any. 

"Some  of  the  curates  were  charming,  and  I  cannot 
think  what  I  should  have  done  without  my  church,  which 
filled  up  nearly  all  my  time,  though,  as  I  grew  wiser,  I 
took  it  more  broadly  and  did  not  allow  it  to  interfere 


THE  PARASITE  165 

with  my  plans.  The  dear  Vicar  often  professed  to  be  a 
little  shocked,  but  I  playfully  called  it  my  evolution  and, 
as  I  was  a  generous  supporter,  he  suffered  me  gladly  - 
not  that  I  was  by  any  means  a  fool.  The  clergy  were 
rather  fond  of  me,  and  I  had  hoped  that  one  day  —  but 
I  won't  go  into  that,  as  it  did  not  come  off,  and  there  is  a 
blank  here  in  my  diary,  marked  by  tears  shed  in  secret, 
but  at  the  moment  telling  of  real  distress. 

"As  for  the  remainder  of  my  time  which  I  could  spare 
from  my  beloved  church,  I  found  all  sorts  of  interests  to 
occupy  it.  I  delighted  in  the  newspapers,  through  which 
I  got  to  know  nearly  every  one,  without  knowing  any- 
thing whatever  about  them.  Of  course  the  shops  made 
a  considerable  demand,  and,  being  strictly  economical, 
though  comfortably  rich,  I  spent  hours  in  buying  trifles 
which  I  often  returned  to  be  changed,  as  they  didn't  suit. 
Then,  oh,  then,  I  lived  in  a  delicious  turmoil  of  modern 
unbelief,  patronised  by  striking  people  of  a  type  you  meet 
nowhere  else,  who  could  not  possibly  have  told  you 
their  creed,  though  we  all  of  us  loved  adventures,  pro- 
vided the  seats  were  not  more  than  a  shilling.  I  wonder 
if  you  have  heard  about  these  new  movements  and  about 
what  is  going  to  happen,  and  every  kind  of  sensation, 
which  made  me  feel  quite  giddy  and  left  me  with  a  sense 
that  the  world  was  such  an  interesting  place,  with  barely 
a  moment  to  turn  round;  though  I  think  the  Vicar  would 
hardly  have  liked  it  if  I  had  told  him  all  the  places  I 
went  to. 

"The  theatres,  too,  were  charming,  and  I  scarcely  ever 
missed  a  piece  which  was  in  the  least  doubtful;  it  made 


i66  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

me  so  very  sorry  for  those  poor  dears  who  must  often  be 
tempted  beyond  endurance.  I  can't  make  out  why  no 
one  tempts  me,  and  I  find  I  can  walk  about  alone  in  per- 
fect safety,  but  the  Vicar  says  this  is  because  I  was  so  well 
brought  up.  I  remember  how  wonderful  he  was  one  day 
about  the  panoply  of  innocence,  which  I  put  down  in  my 
special  book  where  I  kept  my  titbits,  but  of  course  it  was 
carefully  locked  up,  as  it  would  have  been  extremely 
awkward  if  it  had  ever  been  discovered.  In  fact,  I 
arranged  in  my  will  that  it  should  be  cremated  with  me, 
since  such  outpourings  of  my  inmost  being  were  too 
sacred  even  for  the  Vicar  to  read. 

"As  for  my  family,  and  my  people,  I  saw  very  little 
of  them,  but,  then,  I  was  too  busy.  I  made  a  rule  of 
remembering  them  at  Christmas  and  I  met  then  at  funer- 
als and  weddings,  so  that  I  was  by  no  means  a  stranger 
to  them,  while  it  is  impossible  to  keep  up  with  those  who 
are  not  equally  clever  or  intent  on  hearing  all  the  novel- 
ties. And  now  I  think  I  have  said  everything,  though 

I  should  like  to  add  that  the  Vicar "  (Here  the  Judge 

interposed  that  he  thought  the  Vicar  might  look  after 
himself,  but  the  lady  cheerily  continued.)  "I  was  only 
about  to  say  that  it  all  seems  very  beautiful,  though  I  do 
wish  he  was  not  quite  so  narrow,  but,  you  see,  he  is  not 
psychical;  yet,  as  I  once  told  him,  the  only  thing  worth 
living  for  is  one's  affinity.  If  you  could  tell  me  where  to 
find  him,  I  should  be  so  much  obliged,  after  which  I 
hope  to  go  on  chasing  several  more  throughout  eternity, 
so  that  it  grows  more  and  more  interesting,  though  I  am 
not  quite  certain  where  I  have  got  to  now." 


THE  PARASITE  167 

At  last  the  Judge,  with  a  courtesy  that  never  failed 
him,  even  under  pressure  of  this  kind,  informed  the  ac- 
cused that  she  had  best  allow  her  advocate  to  continue 
her  cause,  which  she  was  not  improving  by  her  garrulity. 
The  advocate  made  a  great  effort  to  look  serious,  as  he 
found  no  little  difficulty  in  realising  the  issues  involved, 
but  he  faced  the  folly  of  it  and,  without  further  delay, 
addressed  the  Judge. 

"I  am  here,  my  Lord,  not  only  as  counsel  for  the  Par- 
asite, but  as  an  intimate  friend.  I  had  almost  said  too 
intimate  for  my  liking,  since  I  could  rarely  impress  her 
with  the  reality  of  anything.  This  fault,  however,  fur- 
nishes a  plea  for  mercy,  as  I  have  gradually  become  con- 
vinced that  her  brain  must  be  at  fault  and  that  she  has 
suffered  from  many  disadvantages.  The  very  piety  to 
which  she  has  alluded  soon  became  a  disease,  nor  had 
she  the  smallest  notion  that  she  was  using  the  sanctuary 
itself  for  a  nursery  in  which  she  played  with  every  toy 
she  could  lay  her  hands  on.  The  fact  is  she  never  ceased 
to  be  childish,  though  she  was  never  childlike. 

"I  would  not  insist  on  this  aspect  of  the  subject  did 
I  not  largely  trace  it  to  the  teaching  which  she  received, 
and  to  the  unfortunate  patience  of  those  in  whom  at  first 
she  placed  implicit  confidence.  It  is  regrettable  that 
they  were  content  to  allow  her  to  remain  in  the  realm 
of  theory  rather  than  risk  the  loss  of  her  presence  and 
patronage  by  the  slightest  challenge  to  action.  I  feel 
deeply  moved  by  the  thought  of  masses  in  a  similar  con- 
dition, and  beg  respectfully  to  express  my  opinion  that 
better  these  sacred  places  should  be  empty  than  that  they 


168  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

should  supply  a  harbour  of  refuge  for  a  self-indulgent 
crowd,  which  becomes  a  glaring  stumbling-block  to  the 
strong  and  to  the  sincere.  Your  Lordship  will  agree  that 
they  are  probably  more  productive  of  agnosticism,  or,  at 
least,  absence  from  public  worship  than  more  serious 
difficulties. 

"Nevertheless,  it  is  my  duty  to  point  out  that  much 
good  was  mingled  with  her  sloth  and  stupidity,  though 
I  often  did  my  best  to  warn  her  privately  against  a  sen- 
sationalism which  became  a  necessity.  It  was  impossi- 
ble but  that,  incidentally,  the  spirit  of  goodness  should 
filter  into  her  character;  although  I  am  willing  to  allow 
that  it  was  of  a  watery  nature,  I  contend  that  otherwise 
she  might  not  have  advanced  even  to  the  point  she  has 
now  reached.  I  am  deeply  sorry,  my  Lord,  to  make 
these  admissions,  but  I  stand  aghast  at  the  twofold  power 
of  convention  and  superstition  when  they  make  a  com- 
bined attack  on  the  same  soul.  You  will  not  be  too 
severe  in  your  judgment  towards  these  victims  who  are 
so  constituted  that,  if  their  idol  for  the  time  being  as- 
serted that  black  was  white,  they  would  heartily  agree, 
and  regard  the  speaker  in  the  light  of  an  oracle. 

"As  to  the  remaining  aspect  of  the  case,  I  own  that  I 
have  a  bad  one,  but  I  would  lay  stress  on  the  avoidance 
of  effort  characteristic  of  her  age,  the  more  so  in  the 
case  of  the  rather  rich  who  can  afford  to  be  continually 
on  the  move.  It  must  be  difficult  for  a  real  person  like 
yourself  to  measure  such  futility,  or  the  advantage  taken 
of  unemployed  brains  on  almost  every  plane.  Myriads 
like  this  poor  lady,  who,  had  they  been  favoured  by  ad- 


THE  PARASITE  169 

versity,  would  have  left  a  different  record,  are  blind  to 
the  fact  that  they  are  being  slowly  reduced  to  a  state  of 
hopeless  imbecility  with  which  you  must  find  it  hard 
to  deal. 

"Of  one  thing  I  would  assure  you  —  namely,  that  the 
Parasite  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  burden  she  became. 
She  would  have  been  startled  to  be  told,  whether  in  the 
case  of  the  clergy,  or  the  shop  assistants,  or  the  various 
purveyors  of  mild  excitement  whose  company  she 
frequented,  that  she  was  regarded  as  an  unmitigated 
nuisance,  whereas  she  honestly  thought  she  was  pain- 
fully climbing  a  ladder  which  eventually  reached  the 
skies.  I  have  nothing  to  add  save  that  I  am  grateful 
that  the  issue  no  longer  remains  doubtful,  nor  have  I 
any  fears  but  that,  out  of  this  utter  lack  of  purpose, 
your  Lordship  will  point  the  way  towards  true  stead- 
fastness." 

The  Judge  was  disconcerted,  and  the  impotence  of 
Heaven  to  cope  with  folly  forced  itself  on  his  mind.  Yet 
he  still  evinced  that  optimism  which  is  the  infallible  sign 
of  a  true  passion  for  souls,  and  of  faith  in  their  ultimate 
triumph. 

"I  would  like  to  ask  you,"  he  said,  addressing  the 
accused  with  a  gravity  beyond  her  deserts,  "was  this 
religion  of  yours  at  any  time  very  much  to  you?  Did 
it  count  for  a  great  deal,  or  did  it  merely  serve  as  a  pas- 
time?" 

"It  was  far  more  than  the  last,  though  I  can't  say 
it  was  exactly  the  first,  but,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  don't 
know  if  I  thought  much  about  it." 


170  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"What  was  it  then  which  caused  you  so  continually 
to  frequent  your  church,  and  how  could  you  listen  to 
this  plethora  of  sermons  without  being  influenced  by 
them?" 

"I  suppose  it  became  a  habit,  as  good  as  any  other 
and  better  than  many,  but  I  expect  that  I  went  on  most 
days  because  I  had  been  the  day  before." 

"What  account  would  you  give  of  your  library  of  de- 
votion and  the  complicated  system  of  rules  to  which  you 
were  such  a  slave?" 

"They  didn't  bother  me  much,  but  I  was  rather  un- 
occupied, and  they  served  a  purpose  in  feeding  my  vora- 
cious appetite  for  mystery." 

"Was  it  long  before  you  wearied  of  it?" 

"Not  very,  but  I  actually  stayed  on  several  years 
after  that." 

"From  what  motive?" 

"Partly  from  custom  and  partly  from  a  sense  of 
loyalty,  as  though  I  owed  it  to  the  place,  but,  quite  in 
the  early  days,  it  ceased  to  inspire  me  and  became  more 
or  less  of  a  drudgery." 

"Did  it  strike  you  that  you  might  make  it  difficult  for 
your  teachers,  or  bring  contempt,  so  far  as  a  single  in- 
dividual can,  on  what  should  be  the  most  inspiring  in- 
stitution in  any  country?  " 

"I  was  brought  up  to  regard  the  priesthood  as  im- 
maculate, and  designed  to  supply  an  opportunity  of 
romance  with  rectitude,  which  was  my  pet  weakness." 

"Did  it  not  appear  to  you  unfair  to  set  them  on  a 
pinnacle  which  they  had  no  desire  to  occupy,  and  from 


THE  PARASITE  171 

which,  if  they  fell,  they  became  a  subject  for  unmeasured 
scorn?  " 

"They  were  the  only  people  who  were  thoroughly 
safe,  and  I  could  not  live  without  sentiment  of  some  kind, 
or  I  should  have  had  nothing  to  dream  about  when  I 
was  alone." 

Here  a  cloud  passed  over  the  Judge's  face,  telling  of 
his  sympathy  with  men  specially  dear  to  him  whose 
task,  if  it  was  to  prove  worthy  of  itself,  was  nothing  less 
than  superhuman.  He  sighed  as  he  thought  of  the  stu- 
pidity that  caused  the  best  of  them  a  severer  trial  than 
a  martyr's  death,  which  they  would  have  met  without 
flinching.  He  concluded  that  it  was  wiser  to  make  no 
further  reference  to  a  subject  beyond  the  Parasite's 
appreciation. 

''Were  you  interested  in  great  names,  in  the  needs  of 
the  sisterhood,  or  in  the  calls  to  sacrifice  and  service 
which  you  must  often  have  heard?" 

"You  see  I  was  a  great  thinker;  I  loved  reading, 
and  saw  things  from  so  many  sides  that  I  could  never 
have  committed  myself  to  any  specific  course  of  con- 
duct." 

"Were  you  never  troubled  by  the  nightmare  of  idle- 
ness, or  by  fears  lest  you  should  have  played  with  these 
various  movements  to  the  ruin  of  your  soul?" 

"I  had  a  wonderful  gift  of  balance  which  I  always 
preserved,  and  I  was  trained  to  consider  nothing  such 
bad  form  as  to  let  yourself  go.  I  can't  tell  you,  though, 
how  greatly  I  admired  the  explorers  who  opened  up 
new  ground,  which  usually  ended  in  a  series  of  cuts  de 


172  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

sac  where  they  completely  lost  themselves,  but  I  thor- 
oughly enjoyed  watching  them  make  the  attempt." 

"And  your  heart?  Did  you  really  love,  really  feel, 
really  give,  really  weep,  really  pray,  really  risk,  really 
work,  really  anything?" 

"I  was  perfectly  calm,  and  careful  to  observe  the  con- 
venances of  society.  Besides,  I  made  it  a  rule  to  allow 
nothing  to  interfere  with  my  night's  repose." 

"Did  it  come  home  to  you  that  the  Church  was  uni- 
versal, that  the  women  in  the  shops  were  your  sisters, 
that  the  people  at  the  theatres  were  immortal,  and  that 
you  owed  a  debt  to  them  all  which  remained  unpaid?" 

"I  hardly  know  what  you  mean,  for  I  was  never  in 
debt  in  my  life,  and  was  particular  about  my  investments 
to  the  last  penny." 

"Were  you  frightened  about  dying?  Did  you  won- 
der what  would  happen  afterwards,  and  whether,  in  some 
strange  way,  your  present  was  making  your  future?" 

"I  thought  it  would  be  horrid  to  die  and  hoped  I 
might  go  off  in  my  sleep,  but  was  not  over-anxious  so 
long  as  I  could  send  for  the  clergy  in  time,  though  I 
hated  pain  and  am  thankful  to  say  I  hardly  ever  had 
even  headaches." 

The  Judge  was  almost  despondent,  but  here  he  seemed 
to  touch  the  highest  point  of  chivalry  and,  in  his  sum- 
ming up,  by  showing  exceptional  dignity,  transferred 
it  to  one  ignorant  of  its  first  elements.  He  was  pain- 
fully conscious  that  the  Parasite  represented  a  prolific 
type  among  the  leisured  women  of  any  country,  and  he 
groaned  within  himself  as  he  approached  a  cemetery 


THE  PARASITE  173 

containing,  from  his  point  of  view,  numberless  moribund, 
if  not  already  dead.  He  was  thinking  of  a  multitude 
made  up  of  those  for  whom  there  was  no  place  either 
in  heaven  or  hell,  and  throughout  his  judgment  he 
showed  divine  forbearance,  as  dealing  with  the  worst  of 
disasters. 

''Having  listened  to  the  outline  of  your  days,"  he 
said,  in  tones  which  even  the  accused  could  not  mistake, 
"I  feel  it  my  duty  to  set  before  you,  in  no  measured 
terms,  the  awfulness  of  sin,  or  of  missing  the  mark. 
I  should  find  it  easier  to  offer  you  consolation  if  you  had 
had  the  courage  to  commit  literally  the  wrong  in  the 
spirit  of  which  you  revelled.  I  wish  you  to  understand 
that,  in  contributing  to  the  general  ignorance,  and  still 
more  in  treating  the  most  serious  issues  with  levity, 
you  have  helped  to  sap  the  foundations  of  a  faith  whose 
strength  will  always  be  regulated  by  the  reality  of  its 
adherents. 

"It  would  be  well  to  remember  that  the  absence  of 
aim  by  which  you  have  excused  your  vagaries  obtains 
for  the  majority  of  mortals,  outside  the  class  who  earn 
their  daily  bread,  while  it  points  to  opportunities  on 
the  part  of  the  former  towards  the  latter  which,  to  your 
great  loss,  you  neglected.  Your  refusal  to  be  implicated 
in  any  of  the  vital  questions  affecting  your  sisters,  in 
which  your  money,  at  any  rate,  might  have  proved  use- 
ful, displays  a  selfishness  more  culpable,  in  my  judgment, 
than  many  of  the  scandals  by  which  you  professed  to 
be  shocked,  though  the  recounting  of  them  was  your 
chief  delight.  If  they  who  are  striving  to  raise  woman 


174      .  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

to  a  higher  state  of  efficiency  and  to  a  realisation  of  her 
vocation,  as  well  as  of  her  rights,  find  difficulty  in  their 
task,  you  and  those  who  follow  in  your  train  increase 
it  a  thousandfold.  It  is  through  the  example  of  such 
as  yourself  that  men,  who  adore  the  memory  of  their 
mother,  deal  out  an  unwarranted  contempt  to  her  sex, 
which  the  best  of  them  invariably  respect  till  it  proves 
unworthy. 

"You  appear  to  have  forgotten  that  the  Church, 
which  was  so  often  on  your  lips,  includes  the  girl  behind 
the  counter,  the  tired  sempstress,  and  the  object  from 
whom  you  drew  your  skirts,  but  which  happens  to  have 
been  made  in  the  Divine  image.  The  mental  nipping, 
which  was  your  besetment,  proves  the  ruin  of  thousands, 
nor  is  the  habit  palliated  by  the  greater  guilt  of  those 
who  make  their  livelihood  on  false  pretences.  The  role 
of  woman,  if  it  is  to  be  an  ideal  one,  must  be  lived  up 
to,  and  involves,  equally  with  that  of  man,  the  dignity 
of  work,  in  whatever  department.  Some  day  it  will 
strike  you  that  the  sex  question  is  not  enough  to  occupy 
the  soul,  let  alone  the  thoughts,  of  one  whose  eyes  have 
been  opened  to  the  world's  pain,  and  to  complicated 
problems  which  only  a  woman's  wit  and  consummate 
patience  can  solve.  The  hurt  which  you  have  effected 
is  that  you  have  treated  tragedies  as  trifles,  but,  merci- 
fully, it  is  a  phase  which  will  pass.  When  you  have 
been  sufficiently  tried  in  the  fire,  and  when  it  shall  have 
done  its  work  in  cleansing  the  filth  of  your  spiritual 
things,  you  shall  approach  those  qualities  and  ideals 
which  have  never  failed  to  excite  your  admiration. 


THE  PARASITE  175 

"Your  destiny  must  for  the  future  depend  on  your 
own  concurrence,  but,  at  least,  your  environment  shall 
be  such  as  to  prevent  your  lapsing  by  reason  of  its 
ease.  With  all  the  sorrow  I  feel  at  the  chances  which 
are  gone  by,  I  can  do  little  or  nothing  for  you.  When 
instead  of  talking  about  religion  without  acting  you 
act  it  without  talking,  your  pious  custom  shall  stand 
you  in  good  stead,  and  you  shall  grasp  the  meaning  of 
those  visions  which  were  your  snare.  Later,  you  shall 
arrive  at  the  solution  of  love  itself,  which  is  more  than 
dalliance,  but  which  carries  with  it  the  cross  you  so 
lightly  wear.  From  now  you  need  have  no  fears.  Your 
true  life  is  just  beginning,  and,  though  it  may  mean 
much  chastisement  ere  you  come  to  its  perfecting,  you 
shall  some  day  discover  for  yourself  Him  Who,  in  spite 
of  all  appearances  to  the  contrary,  you  care  for  best  of 
all.  You  shall  then  find  your  affinity." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MEPHISTO 

THIS  prisoner  was  the  reverse  of  attractive.  No 
one  could  deny  that  he  was  well-looking,  but  his 
whole  bearing  was  for  some  reason  repellent. 
He  overdid  the  art  of  pleasing,  strongly  reminding  one 
of  the  type  which  is  "ready  to  supply  the  next  article." 
Though  his  name  was  on  many  lips,  the  sight  of  an 
ordinary  and  vulgar  man  was  disappointing.  Yet  this 
was  a  person  who  had  acquired  celebrity  as  a  middle- 
class  Don  Juan  and  whose  conquests  were  a  matter  of 
common  talk.  He  was  evidently  outside  the  meaning 
of  the  Court  and  a  stranger  to  judgment  in  any  shape. 
He  was  too  bovine  for  the  barest  suspicion  of  sorrow,  and, 
having  run  his  business  with  none  to  say  him  nay,  he 
took  his  seat  with  an  assurance  beyond  belief.  His 
unconsciousness  of  wrong  was  a  trait  which  it  was 
difficult  to  grasp,  and  the  conviction  came  that  God's 
harshest  treatment  of  a  man  is  to  let  him  alone.  With 
a  dramatic  gesture  suggestive  of  the  profession  itself, 
the  accused,  who  symbolised  a  tyrannous  power  in  the 
world  of  entertainment,  thus  addressed  the  Judge: 

"It  is  hard  to  understand  to  what  I  owe  the  honour 
of  this  interview,  and,  had  I  not  felt  mesmerised  into 

176 


MEPHISTO  177 

coming,  I  should  have  avoided  such  a  dreary  spectacle. 
The  fact  is  that  all  my  habits  have  tended  towards 
gaiety,  until  I  can  stand  nothing  without  a  swing,  or 
to  the  music  of  which  you  are  not  forced  to  trip  it  as 
you  go.  Upon  my  word,  I  cannot  see  what  all  this 
points  to,  since  I  am  a  perfectly  harmless  individual  who 
has  given  any  number  of  people  a  good  time.  I  have 
supplied  an  easy  means  of  oblivion,  have  done  my  best 
to  destroy  the  pangs  of  conscience,  and  have  expelled 
the  smallest  fear  of  future  punishment.  I  look  upon 
it  as  altogether  to  the  good  to  have  banished  hell,  and 
supplied  to  the  theatre  a  lighter  side  much  needed  in 
the  country  where  I  lived. 

"I  can  hardly  say  that  acting,  in  the  serious  sense  of 
the  word,  came  in  at  all;  what  I  aimed  at  was  laughter, 
without  any  awkward  restrictions  of  decency  or  manners. 
They  tell  me,  though  I  have  ceased  to  notice  it,  that  what 
mainly  filled  the  house  and  my  own  purse  was  a  combi- 
nation of  lust  and  vitality  so  entrancing  that  the  time 
passed  before  you  knew  where  you  were,  without  any 
tax  on  your  intellect.  The  after  consequences  were  not 
my  affair,  but  the  drug  which  I  provided  effectually 
dulled  remorse;  there  was  a  sort  of  'let  us  eat  and  drink, 
for  to-morrow  we  die,'  about  it  which  acted  as  an  anodyne 
and  made  the  same  people  come  again  and  again,  as 
though  they  could  never  have  enough.  It  was  all  in  the 
way  of  pleasure,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  I  raised  the  art 
of  turning  heads  with  no  brains  in  them  to  a  new  science. 
I  found  myself  patronised  not  only  by  the  middle  classes, 
but  by  the  highest  in  the  land,  so  far  as  names  go,  until 


178  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

I  became  the  resort  of  any  who  wanted  to  forget  their 
worries  to  tunes  and  dances  unsurpassed  in  their  seduc- 
tiveness. The  truth  is  I  drew  the  line  nowhere,  save  of 
course  at  the  limitation  of  the  censor,  and  even  that  I 
learned  to  evade  by  skilled  innuendo. 

"As  to  the  performers,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  securing 
them,  seeing  that  my  requirements  were  chiefly  con- 
fined to  beauty  of  form,  of  which  there  was  a  large  supply 
in  the  market.  I  confess  it  never  dawned  on  me  that 
they  had  souls,  or  that  they  might  look  back  with  regret 
to  having  sacrificed  their  youth,  and,  in  many  instances, 
their  innocence,  to  the  success  of  my  schemes.  However, 
the  business  part  of  my  programme  was  so  strong  that 
my  pupils  soon  became  adepts  at  decoying  their  own 
prey,  more  by  promises  than  by  performance,  until  it  was 
secured  beyond  escape.  Their  engagement  was  pre- 
ceded by  private  interviews  with  myself  which  I  would 
prefer  not  to  describe  too  accurately,  but,  at  any  rate, 
they  knew  fairly  well  the  character  of  their  contract,  and 
the  majority  subscribed  willingly  to  the  conditions  of 
their  employment.  Now  and  again  those  who  looked 
upon  the  drama  as  of  national  importance  appeared  to 
be  vexed  at  my  operations,  but  by  degrees  I  became  ac- 
cepted, and  even  taken  up  by  some  of  the  leaders,  lest 
they  should  seem  to  be  behind  the  growing  trend  of  pub- 
lic opinion  in  a  downward  direction. 

"I  doubt  whether  I  have  any  excuse  to  offer,  nor  do  I 
feel  the  need  of  one.  Having  a  keen  eye  to  business, 
which  was  my  main  characteristic,  I  saw  that  there 
was  a  large  fortune  in  the  delights  of  the  flesh,  if  properly 


MEPHISTO  179 

graduated,  as  also  in  playing  down  to  the  dislike  of 
study  and  hatred  of  thought  which  were  features  of  my 
age.  Anyway  I  am  told  that  I  have  countless  friends 
and  not  a  single  enemy,  which  leaves  me  in  an  excellent 
humour,  and  hopeful  that  you  will  treat  this  little  matter 
without  prejudice,  and  as  a  man  of  the  world." 

The  advocate  was  fairly  nonplussed,  and  seemed  likely 
to  retire  from  the  case.  In  fact  he  hardly  knew  the  ac- 
cused, who  had  generally  given  him  the  slip,  being  in- 
clined to  shirk  the  least  approach  to  self-examination. 
Even  here  were  present  that  gleam  of  kindness  and  at- 
tempt to  make  the  best  of  things  which  often  ennoble 
the  counsel  for  the  defence  in  any  Court.  He  also 
recognised  that  though  the  prisoner  had  soiled,  by 
diverting  to  his  own  purposes,  the  whole  area  of  comedy, 
love-making,  music,  and  the  dance,  there  was  no  intrinsic 
harm  in  any  of  these  things.  Being  himself  pure,  they 
took  on  for  him  his  own  guilelessness,  nor  did  he  need 
any  one  to  tell  him  that  youth  was  youth,  that  the  laws 
of  attraction  might  and  ought  to  be  without  sin,  and 
that  children  dance  to  an  organ  as  by  nature  born.  It 
was  the  defilement  of  these  instincts  that  wounded  him, 
and,  as  he  contemplated  this  perverter  of  possible  good, 
he  wondered  how  it  was  that  such  forces  had  been 
yielded  up  with  scarcely  a  struggle  on  the  part  of  true 
lovers  of  humanity. 

"I  fear,"  he  said,  "that  the  arguments  which  I  have 
to  put  before  your  Lordship  are  too  vague  to  help  the 
prisoner's  case,  but  I  would  point  out  that  the  particular 
course  he  adopted  was  fostered,  if  not  brought  about,  by 


i8o  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

the  deadly  dulness  which  prevailed  where  he  resided. 
Goodness  wore  an  aspect  which,  to  say  the  least,  was 
trying,  and  afforded  him  no  small  opportunity.  Aware 
as  I  am  of  the  strong  point  which  you  make  of  personal 
responsibility,  I  cannot  forbear  the  suggestion  that  in 
countries  where  the  climate  runs  to  gloom  nations  are 
more  easily  tempted  to  license  than  where  the  sky  is  blue 
and  there  is  a  sparkle  in  the  air.  It  is  possible,  my  Lord, 
for  virtue  to  become  a  weight;  and,  when  the  intelligence 
is  of  a  poor  quality,  combined  with  the  melancholy 
which  treads  hard  on  vacuousness  of  mind,  no  wonder  if, 
with  a  little  arrangement,  pockets  are  emptied  in  order 
to  satisfy  the  lower  inclinations. 

"Even  I,  who  am  conducting  this  case,  am  unable  to 
trace  any  good  in  the  prisoner's  occupation,  except  that 
it  may  have  served  for  a  harmless  distraction  to  a  large 
and  eminently  respectable  class  who  possessed  neither  wit 
nor  imagination  enough  to  be  much  affected  either  way. 
I  would  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  many  of  this  type  were 
even  benefited,  since  without  similar  relief  they  would 
have  become  morose  and  unbearable  in  their  uninterest- 
ing homes.  I  trust,  then,  that  your  Lordship  will  be 
lenient  to  the  accused,  at  least  as  regards  that  portion  of 
the  house  which  was  condemned  to  a  drab  and  colourless 
existence.  That  my  client  is  bound  to  undergo  some 
drastic  treatment  I  cannot  disguise  from  myself,  but  I 
hope  the  day  may  arrive  when  he  will  have  acquired  a 
truer  knowledge  of  that  bonhomie  for  which  there  is  a 
place  in  the  scheme  of  salvation." 

The  Judge  was  plainly  troubled,  and  there  was  a  dis- 


MEPHISTO  181 

tance  between  himself  and  the  accused  which  happily 
was  not  the  rule.  The  story  was  woefully  sordid,  yet, 
withal,  explicable  to  one  who  understood  the  weight  of 
life  and  the  heaviness  with  which  it  pressed  upon  the 
children  of  men.  His  mind  was  travelling  beyond  the 
prisoner,  who  failed  to  interest  him  compared  with  the 
crowds  whom  that  prisoner  had  tempted,  and  the  causes 
which  rendered  them  so  susceptible  to  his  lures.  His 
sympathy  called  up  a  picture  of  the  ignorant  rich,  and 
from  his  heart  he  pitied  the  young  men  whose  prime 
necessity  was  to  be  amused.  He  felt  the  tragedy  of  their 
stupidity  and  bewailed  the  snares  hidden  for  them  under 
exotics  and  every  enticement. 

As  he  measured  the  extent  of  the  mischief,  there 
passed  before  him  a  vision  of  future  mothers  ruined  by 
suggestion  and  rendered  unable  to  accomplish  their 
self-development.  It  appeared  to  him  more  pernicious 
than  actual  vice,  involving  as  it  did  less  dread,  and  prom- 
ising a  slumber  from  which  the  sleeper  woke  to  find 
his  or  her  true  dignity  for  ever  done  away.  He  saw  the 
ruin  of  the  most  hopeful,  and  the  result  of  hybrid  unions 
which  transmitted  the  poison  to  succeeding  generations. 
On  that  kindest  of  faces  came  a  look  of  compassion  for 
the  world,  but  with  regard  to  the  accused  himself,  his 
pity  made  him  the  more  pitiless.  The  following  conver- 
sation passed  between  him  and  the  prisoner: 

"I  wish  to  know  if  you  thought  of  these  traps  which 
you  laid  for  your  audience  as  affecting  your  own  sister 
or  daughter,  or  if  the  memory  of  your  mother  once 
crossed  your  mind?  " 


182  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"I  have  always  regarded  women  as  more  or  less  fair 
game  and,  with  the  exception  of  my  mother,  looked  on 
them  as  inferior  to  man  and  put  into  the  world  for  his 
passing  satisfaction." 

"Did  you  not  feel  any  misgivings  as  to  your  personal 
treatment  of  your  performers,  being  aware  of  the  straits 
to  which  they  were  reduced,  when  you  promised  them 
extravagant  gains  at  the  expense  of  their  honour?" 

"I  soon  lost  any  previous  pity,  though  where  my  fan- 
cies were  touched  I  kept  them  to  myself,  until  I  had  no 
further  use  for  them;  but  I  paid  them  well,  and  their  own 
people  did  not  seem  to  mind." 

"Were  you  not  inclined  to  shed  a  tear  over  the  young 
men  whose  mothers'  hearts  you  broke  and  whose  sisters 
you  shamed,  knowing,  as  you  must  have  known,  that  you 
were  to  them  as  the  spider  to  the  fly,  and  that,  if  you  got 
them  into  your  web,  there  was  little  or  no  chance  for 
them?" 

"I  can  own  to  nothing  but  pleasure  in  the  transaction, 
as  it  brought  me  into  a  society  which  flattered  my  ambi- 
tion. Though  I  had  a  leaning  for  the  gilded  youth,  there 
was  a  radical  side  to  my  nature  which  rather  enjoyed 
than  otherwise  bringing  them  to  my  own  level;  besides, 
while  the  fascination  lasted,  it  was  roses,  roses  all  the 
way." 

"Did  it  not  hurt  you  that  you  were  injuring  the  drama 
itself ,  and,  under  a  name  with  fine  traditions,  were  placing 
before  the  public  productions  instinct  with  picturesque 
sin?" 

"  I  knew  this  and  I  hated  it,  but  I  did  it  all  the  same." 


MEPHISTO  183 

"Did  you  consider  the  reach  of  your  influence,  the 
host  of  imitators,  the  popularity  of  your  dances,  and  the 
deadly  taint  which  through  you  affected  the  entire  realm 
of  amusement?  " 

"  I  took  every  care  as  to  my  royalties,  so  that  I  could 
not  regret  a  tendency  which,  the  more  it  increased,  the 
more  it  strengthened  the  desire  to  patronise  my  show." 

"Were  you  never  appealed  to  by  the  illness  of  the 
girls  whom  you  employed,  and  whom  you  turned  off 
at  a  moment's  notice  when,  physically,  they  ceased  to 
draw?" 

"If  I  had  not  done  so,  I  should  soon  have  been  ruined 
by  paying  attention  to  sentimental  fancies." 

"Surely  it  cannot  be  a  fact  that  in  several  instances 
girls  were  offered  engagements  on  the  understanding 
that  they  must  first  forego  their  virtue,  or  you  had  no 
opening  for  them?" 

"I  fancy  this  sort  of  thing  did  take  place  sometimes, 
but  it  was  all. in  the  commission,  as  we  say;  of  course 
they  had  the  right  to  decline  if  they  preferred  poverty, 
while  it  would  doubtless  have  happened  to  them  in  some 
other  way,  and  less  to  their  advantage." 

"You  cannot  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  felt  no  qualms 
when  you  held  before  them  as  a  bait  marriages  with  a 
class  altogether  removed  from  their  own,  to  be  com- 
passed by  stealth,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  man's 
parents,  and  to  the  inevitable  unhappiness  of  the  young 
people  concerned?  " 

"This  was  one  of  my  chief  allurements  and,  when  the 
idea  came  to  me,  I  felt  that  I  had  hit  on  no  end  of  a  good 


184  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

thing,  though  as  to  what  followed,  it  was  a  matter  oi 
complete  indifference." 

"Is  it  the  case  that  more  than  once  you  almost  re- 
pented and  wished  you  had  turned  your  attention  to  the 
bona  fide  money  market,  instead  of  to  such  a  shameless 
traffic?" 

"I  frequently  thought  I  would  turn  it  up,  though  I 
have  never  acknowledged  it  till  now,  and  once,  when  the 
doctors  warned  me,  I  remember  a  long  procession  of 
faces  which  haunted  me  for  days." 

"Are  you  beginning  to  realise  what  it  all  meant,  and  is 
there  no  vestige  of  sorrow  in  your  heart,  as  you  commence 
to  see  that  it  is  possible  to  commit  murder  without  using 
a  weapon?" 

"For  mercy's  sake,  come  to  your  sentence,  and  let  me 
go!  Yes,  I  begin  to  see  it  more  clearly,  and  the  same 
procession  of  faces,  much  longer  now  than  then,  is  com- 
ing before  me;  but  at  the  time,  so  help  me  God,  I  never 
thought  it  out.  If  I  had  met  some  one  like  yourself,  I 
believe  I  should  have  chucked  it  and  turned  out  a  better 
man." 

The  sternness  on  the  Judge's  countenance  relaxed  for 
an  instant,  and  the  skill  of  a  man  who,  without  ceasing 
to  be  cold,  put  such  pathos  into  his  tone  that  this  vul- 
garian nearly  wept,  excelled  any  eloquence.  He  knew 
the  value  of  words,  however,  and,  swinging  round  to 
severity  out  of  very  love,  elected  to  help  him  by  the  re- 
moteness which  he  assumed. 

"Your  proceedings,"  he  said,  "were  too  considered 
to  call  for  much  pity.  I  fully  understand  your  advo- 


MEPHISTO  185 

cate's  reference  to  the  tedium  and  dulness  of  the  daily 
round,  but  I  fail  to  see  how  this  qualifies  your  conduct. 
I  am  aware  that  you  have  often  dispelled  clouds  and 
lifted  burdens,  but  the  impression  you  give  me  is  that 
of  a  man  who  looked  on  the  ruin  of  an  immortal  soul 
as  a  trifle  compared  to  enriching  his  wretched  self  and 
to  revelling  in  the  exploitation  of  the  senses.  It  is 
evident  that  offences  must  come,  but  it  is  a  sorry  busi- 
ness for  him  through  whom  they  come,  nor  is  there  any 
doubt  that  through  you  they  have  been  seriously  mul- 
tiplied. 

"It  is  neither  my  pleasure  nor  my  duty  to  dwell 
longer  on  a  point  to  which  you  are  at  present  nearly 
insensible,  though  I  am  grateful  for  the  gleam  of  good- 
ness which  you  have  just  shown.  Your  chief  penalty 
consists,  as  it  always  must,  in  what  you  have  become,  nor 
can  even  this  touch  its  maximum  till  you  recognise  what 
you  might  have  been.  I  am  acquainted  with  your 
charities,  your  spasmodic  generosity,  and  your  sentimen- 
tal tears,  but  these  things  count  little  with  me,  amount- 
ing as  they  did  to  no  more  than  emotionalism  and  vanity. 

"However  distasteful  the  lesson,  you  must  learn  the 
horror  of  the  spirit  of  murder  without  the  courage  or 
the  excuses  often  accompanying  the  act.  You  will 
have  to  endure  a  hideous  remorse  before  your  heart 
lives,  when  you  shall  begin  to  guess  at  the  tragedy  of  your 
pleasant  days.  Your  discipline  shall  be  to  undergo  a  long 
period  in  the  wilderness,  where  you  shall  be  compelled 
to  face  yourself  and  where  there  shall  be  no  glitter,  no 
seductions,  no  display.  Alone,  under  the  stars,  you 


i86  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

shall  be  driven  to  contemplate  your  true  home,  from 
which  you  have  not  only  wandered,  but  the  entrance 
of  which  you  have  barred  to  thousands.  You  shall 
wake  to  a  sadness  of  which  no  one  can  relieve  you,  as 
you  dwell  on  the  young  lives  which  you  destroyed  at  an 
age  when  they  should  have  been  defended  by  every 
good  influence.  You  shall  drink  the  cup  of  bitterness  to 
the  dregs,  as  your  mind  travels  over  the  gins  which 
you  set  to  catch  the  birds  before  you  plucked  them  for 
your  profit.  Worst  of  all,  you  shall  realise,  in  the  silence 
of  your  solitude,  the  deadly  wrong  of  cheapening  sin, 
and  of  investing  carnality  with  a  halo  which  is  the  tri- 
umph of  a  Mephistopheles.  Though  the  knife  must 
probe  to  the  roots  of  the  evil,  I  would  bid  you  hope, 
seeing  that  one  day  your  wilderness  shall  blossom  like  a 
rose. 

"Later,  you  shall  return  as  an  apostle  of  your  new- 
born idealism  and  shall  witness  a  wantonness  which 
obtains  on  a  larger  scale,  and  in  the  invention  of  which 
you  once  gloried.  You  shall  reach  a  state  of  yearning 
to  retrieve  through  which  you  will  be  redeemed,  in 
proportion  as  you  daringly  assert  that  the  body  has  a 
sanctity  of  its  own,  that  home  is  a  divine  institution, 
and  that  innocence  claims  our  protection.  Such  a  sen- 
tence is  the  heaviest  I  can  pronounce,  but  in  after  days 
you  will  bless  me  for  it,  and,  when  your  lesson  is  learned, 
you  shall  arrive  at  a  gaiety  which  is  all  good. 

"Your  powers  of  arranging  for  sane  frolic  shall  not 
be  lost.  Your  gifts  of  management,  which  were  unique, 
shall  still  have  a  sphere.  This  influence  of  yours,  which 


MEPHISTO  187 

proved  such  a  bane,  shall  be  consecrated  to  other  ends, 
and  you  shall  not  lose  your  power  through  your  new 
preference  for  purity.  Hereafter  you  shall  detest  the 
thought  of  supplying  danger,  but  without  forfeiting 
the  swing  and  go  that  are  much  needed  in  the  realm  of 
good.  Your  paternity  shall  reassert  itself,  and,  to  quote 
from  your  own  Psalms,  your  aim  shall  be  that  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  city  become  polished  corners  of  the  Temple. 
Not  for  an  instant  would  I  diminish  the  dash  or  damp 
the  joy  which  you  know  so  well  how  to  impart,  but  the 
lesson  the  wilderness  shall  have  taught  you  is  that  God 
and  gladness  must  go  hand  in  hand,  if  the  last  is  not  to 
die." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  DRUNKARD 

THE  Drunkard  shuffled  into  Court,  as  he  shuffled 
everywhere,  with  a  stupid  leer  telling  of  an  addled 
brain  and  of  finer  feelings  lost  long  ago.  His 
hectic  flush  betokened  a  shame  and  a  sensitiveness 
which  spoke  of  better  days.  He  had  evidently  once 
been  careful  of  his  appearance,  and  the  habits  of  a  gen- 
tleman were  discernible,  spite  of  the  slackness  and  seedi- 
ness  of  his  whole  bearing.  No  satire  was  likely  to  be 
called  forth  by  this  wreck  of  a  former  man  who  was  his 
own  enemy,  and  who  might  be  described  as  a  gradual 
suicide.  He  hated  sitting  down;  the  word  rest  was  un- 
known to  him;  his  hands,  on  which  were  no  marks  of 
work,  clutched  at  his  collar,  smoothed  his  hair,  stroked 
his  cheeks,  sought  his  pockets,  and  then  began  it  all 
over  again. 

A  nameless  sorrow  enveloped  him,  arousing  rage  in 
an  onlooker  against  the  purveyors  of  what  had  ruined 
millions  like  him,  whilst  they  had  been  enriched  and 
even  ennobled  thereby.  The  cause  of  the  curse  lay 
with  the  poor  drunkard  himself,  it  being  clear  that,  if 
his  own  liability  had  been  nil,  he  would  not  have  been 
cited  for  judgment.  When  he  looked  up  into  the  Judge's 

188 


THE  DRUNKARD  189 

face  a  new  peace  possessed  his  soul,  and  the  swiftness  of 
the  change,  unless  witnessed,  would  have  been  incredible. 
Those  hands  of  his  ceased  trembling,  and  he  became 
restful  under  a  glance  which  disregarded  his  externals. 
All  hurt  to  his  pride  had  gone,  since  he  knew  that  he 
would  be  treated  for  what  he  was  and  not  for  what  he 
seemed  to  be.  To  be  honoured  could  alone  satisfy  his 
thirst  for  respect,  much  as  the  salute  of  a  sentry  might 
save  from  despair  an  officer  who  had  been  cashiered. 
Instinct  suggested  that  the  Drunkard,  having  been 
ruined  by  his  emotions,  could  best  be  cured  on  the  same 
plane,  and  a  contest  was  obviously  impending  between 
natural  loathing  and  supernatural  love. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  believed  that  a  human  being 
could  have  come  to  this  extremity,  unless  he  had  long 
ago  bartered  away  the  birthright  of  free  will.  A  large 
element  of  the  child  still  remained  in  the  accused,  and, 
as  throughout  his  career  he  had  been  conspicuous  for 
weakness,  so  now  he  was  equally  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  goodness,  which  comforted  him  not  a  little. 
Seldom  was  the  Judge  so  wonderful.  He  had  not  yet 
opened  his  lips,  but  one  began  to  understand  how  there 
are  presences  which  can  expel  demons  without  a  word. 
If  silence  is  golden  at  certain  moments,  only  the  very 
wise  know  when  to  refrain;  but  during  this  interval 
a  communion  was  established  between  the  Judge  and 
the  sufferer  unintelligible  save  to  those  who  have  loved 
enough  to  make  a  similar  effort.  The  man  could  tell 
his  story  now;  and,  though  there  was  no  alteration  in  his 
clothes,  so  great  a  one  was  there  in  his  face,  that  only 


ico  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

his  mother  would  have  known  him.  Such  a  trans- 
formation may  be  deemed  beyond  belief,  but  it  is  the 
one  feature  in  the  restoration  of  the  inebriate  which 
prevents  hopelessness  and  expresses  the  paradox  of  two 
people  merged  in  one,  till  separated  anew  by  sympathy 
into  their  constituent  parts. 

"I  have  come,"  he  said,  "not  merely  to  confess,  but. 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  to  accuse  myself.  I  have 
always  sworn  that  I  never  drank  to  excess,  that  every 
one  else  lied,  and  that,  from  start  to  finish,  I  was  grossly 
misunderstood.  Simply  to  be  with  you  has  somehow 
made  me  happy,  and,  being  happy,  it  becomes  easier 
to  own  up.  How  I  could  have  made  such  a  hash  of 
my  life,  reducing  myself  to  a  state  worse  than  that  of  an 
animal,  I  fail  to  understand.  When  I  came  here  I  had 
meant  to  pitch  the  same  old  yarn,  and  to  accuse  every- 
body on  God's  earth  except  myself.  At  last  I  see  my 
damnable  selfishness,  but  I  pray  that  the  name  on  which 
I  brought  disgrace  may  never  come  to  light. 

"The  satire  of  it  is  that  I  started  well,  was  even  bril- 
liant, and  more  than  once  had  the  world,  so  to  speak, 
at  my  feet.  What  caused  others  long  application  came 
to  me  by  inspiration,  and,  unfortunately,  I  gained  hon- 
ours by  scarcely  more  than  guesswork.  The  same  ease 
dogged  my  footsteps  in  the  years  that  followed,  and  I 
hardly  noticed  that  this  cleverness  was  landing  me  in  a 
mire  which  I  should  then  have  regarded  as  outside  the 
range  of  probability.  Love  of  good  fellowship,  the  ar- 
tistic temperament,  and  impatience  of  restraint  drove  me 
to  drink  as  a  duck  takes  to  water,  more  especially  as  I 


THE  DRUNKARD  191 

was  master  of  the  revels,  loved  entertaining,  and  shone 
beyond  the  rest  when  the  wine  flowed.  Not  that  I 
neglected  my  work,  I  was  a  demon  at  that,  too,  but  I 
did  not  recognise  that  both  work  and  wine  spelt  for  me 
oblivion  of  myself  and  popularity  among  my  inferiors. 
The  only  person  who  saw  this  was  my  mother,  for  my 
pals  and  a  crowd  of  hangers-on  liked  what  it  meant  for 
them  too  well  to  drop  a  hint  for  my  benefit.  My  mother 
believed  that  a  good  woman  would  save  me,  but  again 
this  pernicious  facility  proved  my  bane,  since  I  won  her 
without  any  effort  or  any  test  of  sacrifice.  She  naturally 
thought  she  would  cure  me,  and  for  a  time  the  bliss  of 
our  content  promised  a  permanent  remedy.  I  worked 
harder  than  ever,  being  fired  by  a  new  ambition,  until 
I  attained  a  place  in  regard  to  which  I  would  prefer  to 
be  silent. 

"But,  whether  it  was  the  wife,  or  whether  it  was  the 
place,  there  was  more  getting  than  giving  in  both.  Soon 
enough  I  came  up  against  the  old  trouble,  which  meant 
that  everything  on  earth  had  for  me  a  brick  wall  only 
to  be  scaled  by  getting  drunk.  By  degrees  recklessness 
set  in.  The  wife  whom  I  adored,  or,  rather,  idolised  as 
a  reflection  of  myself,  palled  on  me.  Even  the  children 
became  a  nuisance,  for  I  lost  interest  in  anything  save 
that  thrill  of  being  outside  my  body  which  was  enchain- 
ing me  more  tightly  every  day.  I  became  less  particular 
not  only  as  to  myself  but  as  to  the  liquor,  provided  it 
was  wet  and  provided  it  was  strong.  Unfortunately, 
I  had  money  without  limit,  which  made  the  descent 
more  rapid,  until  ruin  stared  me  in  the  face.  With  my 


i92  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

self-respect  my  honour  went;  I  developed  into  a  liar  of 
the  worst  description,  cute  as  they  are  made,  and  capable 
of  any  subterfuge  in  order  to  indulge  in  my  darling  sin. 
Countless  hands  were  held  out  to  save  me,  but  I  would 
have  none  of  it.  Now  that  it  is  too  late  I  know  that, 
had  I  meant  business,  or  acted  loyally  by  the  advice  I 
received,  I  could  have  recovered  and  been  as  good  a  man 
as  ever. 

"My  mother's  love  was  angelic,  but  my  wife  left  me, 
nor  do  I  blame  her  when  I  think  of  the  children.  I 
doubt  if  she  would  have  deserted  one  of  them  in  a  similar 
plight.  Then  I  grew  not  to  care,  and  even  I  find  it 
beneath  me  to  reveal  the  vileness  of  the  last  few  years. 
To  the  end  I  continued  to  dream  of  goodness,  and  lazily 
made  resolves  which  I  had  no  intention  of  carrying  out. 
My  constitution  refused  to  be  broken,  and  my  strength 
increased  my  weakness.  Could  I  have  had  a  long  ill- 
ness, there  might  have  been  a  pause,  but,  getting  over 
my  bouts  with  no  serious  damage  to  my  health,  I  fled 
once  more  from  the  voice  of  conscience  to  taste  what 
was  both  my  delight  and  my  destruction. 

"Language  fails  me  to  describe  the  ceaseless  worry  I 
caused,  the  tyranny  I  exercised,  the  people  I  wore  out, 
and  the  gloom  I  created  by  my  false  gaiety.  I  stand 
here  not  so  much  with  a  desire  to  become  sober,  as  with 
a  passion  for  punishment  which  is  the  only  antidote 
strong  enough  for  my  disease,  affording  as  it  does  the 
pleasure  of  pain,  mercifully  a  closed  book  to  nearly  all 
save  the  drunkard." 

The  advocate  was  great  on  this  occasion,  and  without 


THE  DRUNKARD  193 

hesitation  he  began  his  speech,  his  difficulty  being  to 
compress  it.  "I  rejoice,  my  Lord,"  he  said,  "to  plead 
not  only  for  the  man  but  for  my  friend.  I  have  never 
ceased  to  love  him,  nor  he  me,  and  at  the  risk  of  its 
sounding  like  a  fairy  story,  I  am  bold  to  describe  him  as 
a  poet  imprisoned  within  a  beast,  with  which  he  became 
blended,  but  to  which  he  by  no  means  belonged.  He 
was  by  nature  one  of  the  sweetest,  gentlest  characters  I 
have  ever  known.  As  a  child,  his  chief  delight  was  in 
prayer  and  in  vague  wonder  as  to  the  infinitude  of  God 
and  the  mystery  of  the  Universe.  When  a  small  boy 
he  was  always  doing  kind  things,  and  I  can  see  him  now 
as  he  put  his  arms  round  the  dogs  and  kissed  them, 
while  his  favourite  cob  seemed  to  him  to  have  a  soul. 
There  was  no  sign  of  coming  doom  in  this  universal  fa- 
vourite as  after  dinner  his  father  treated  him  to  cham- 
pagne, showed  him  off  to  his  guests,  and  prophesied  of 
his  future. 

"He  has  told  his  story  almost  too  well,  but  your 
Lordship  needs  no  warning  from  me  that  these  intervals 
of  ingenuousness  are  often  a  prelude  to  still  greater 
deception.  As  for  his  final  ruin,  he  was  heavily  handi- 
capped by  his  early  victories,  and  he  doubtless  found  it 
true  that,  when  to  drink  is  added  wealth,  it  needs  a 
mighty  miracle  to  enter  the  Kingdom.  His  life  afforded 
few  restraints  and  he  would  have  had  to  make  them  for 
himself,  which  is  just  what  he  was  unable  to  do.  The 
error  of  supposing  that  the  end  of  existence  was  to  be 
happy,  instead  of  to  make  happy,  was  the  initial  cause 
of  his  collapse.  That  a  man  should  kill  the  thing  he 


i94  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

loves,  torture  his  special  treasure,  crucify  the  object 
of  his  worship,  and  hold  up  to  derision  the  country  to 
which  he  longs  to  add  fresh  laurels  by  his  achievements, 
astounds  his  advocate  and  makes  him  dumb. 

"When  I  picture  this  potential  leader  of  men  slink- 
ing into  the  lowest  haunts,  trading  on  his  best  friends, 
raising  their  hopes  only  to  dash  them  to  the  ground,  and 
ending  in  a  mass  of  egoism  which  was  the  pest  of  those 
who  most  pitied  him,  I  ask  your  mercy  not  alone  for 
the  drunkard,  but  for  those  who  found  it  possible  to 
supply  the  instruments  of  his  martyrdom.  I  should 
have  been  glad  to  think  that  of  these  the  accused  has 
not  said  one  word,  if  his  leniency  had  not  been  due  to 
the  fact  that,  even  now,  he  does  not  hate  what  landed 
him  in  Hades.  His  hospitality  knew  no  bounds,  though 
it  was  spoilt  by  the  vanity  that  accompanied  it,  but  he 
never  turned  his  back  on  a  convict,  which  should  claim 
your  consideration  now  that  he  himself  is  one.  I  have 
nothing  more  to  add,  and  prefer  to  leave  the  solution  of 
this  tragedy  to  your  Lordship,  having  marked  the  dan- 
ger of  human  inclinings  where,  in  face  of  every  cause 
for  revulsion,  the  devil  takes  on  some  irresistible  charm." 

The  face  of  the  Judge  indicated  a  grief  equal  to  that 
of  the  prisoner.  Throughout  the  confession  and  the 
speech  which  followed  he  was  intensely  moved  by  the 
thought  of  the  snare  to  which  many  of  the  brightest 
and  brainiest  were  subject.  He  was  bewailing  in  secret 
these  flowers  of  promise  that  had  opened  with  excep- 
tional glory,  but  had  faded  long  ere  they  arrived  at 
maturity.  With  a  compassion  known  in  perfection  only 


THE  DRUNKARD  195 

by  a  man  of  sorrows,  he  cordially  pitied  those  of  the  race 
who  were  capable  of  worse  than  killing  their  brothers  for 
coin  of  the  realm.  It  was  no  excuse  in  his  sight  that 
they  might  bring  forward  the  plea  of  fair  dealing,  or 
argue  that  others  would  have  done  it  if  they  had  not,  or, 
deadliest  of  all,  that  their  intention  was  to  use  a  pro- 
portion of  their  receipts  for  patriotic  (!)  ends.  Brushing 
this  aside,  as  he  gazed  on  the  bankrupt  before  him,  tears 
flowed  down  his  cheeks.  It  was  so  unnecessary,  so 
disappointing,  so  wasteful,  so  wicked,  though  he  did  not 
delude  himself  that  alcohol  was  the  solitary  channel  of 
this  traffic  in  man's  proneness  to  err.  Nevertheless  the 
hardheartedness  of  the  transaction  shocked  him,  and  the 
crime  of  thus  mutilating  for  money  the  Divine  image 
in  those  who  could  not  resist,  staggered  him  more  than 
the  tale  of  woe  to  which  he  had  just  listened.  When 
this  dastardly  deed  became  incorporated  with  good  and 
when  those  implicated,  whether  directly  or  indirectly, 
went  so  far  as  to  pray  for  the  victims  of  their  cupidity, 
the  Judge  shuddered  at  the  awakening  which  must  come 
to  any  capable  of  such  self-delusion.  He  turned  to  this 
one  with  surprising  gentleness  and  paid  him  extra  hon- 
our to  cover  the  loss  of  his  own. 

"Tell  me,"  he  said  "how  it  was  that  in  your  youth 
you  became  familiar  with  the  cause  of  your  future  down- 
fall." 

"My  father  was  a  hospitable  man  and  prided  himself 
on  the  best  of  cellars." 

"Was  your  trouble  hereditary?" 

"I  did  not  dare  to  let  myself  think  so,  though  I  had 


196  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

heard  of  wild  enough  stories  in  the  family,  but  we  re- 
garded them  as  rather  heroic,  and  not  a  word  was  said 
to  make  us  feel  ashamed." 

"And  your  mother's  attitude?" 

"My  mother  was  a  saint." 

"Did  you  feel  no  remorse,  while  you  were  still  young, 
when  you  became  aware  that  this  was  growing  on  you?" 

"Not  a  bit,  which  puzzles  me.  At  the  time  my  com- 
panions called  it  pluck,  said  I  was  a  sportsman,  egged 
me  on,  but  took  care  not  to  follow  so  far." 

"Did  you  love  your  work?" 

"Passionately,  but  it  was  exhausting,  until  to  do  the 
best  I  had  to  resort  to  stimulants  in  increasing  quanti- 
ties." 

"With  what  result?" 

"That  I  felt  like  a  demi-god  and  that  there  was  noth- 
ing I  could  not  perform  if  put  to  it." 

"Your  brain?" 

"I  had  visions  of  every  kind  of  delight,  fairies  visited 
me,  but  live  women  became  insipid,  and  nothing  satisfied 
me  short  of  communing  with  the  unreal." 

"Did  you  escape  tedium  and  was  monotony  banished?  " 

"Yes,  and  this  was  best  of  all,  for  I  lived  in  a  world 
of  fantasy,  above  ordinary  concerns,  though  at  intervals 
I  came  down  with  a  run  and  found  myself  common 
clay." 

"How  do  you  explain  that,  knowing  what  you  were 
doing,  you  continued  to  do  it?" 

"I  can't,  but  I  did  both." 

"What  of  your  manliness?" 


THE  DRUNKARD  197 

"I  never  boasted  of  it  more  than  when  it  was  in  dan- 
ger." 

"What  of  your  affections?" 

"I  specially  wept  about  them  when  I  was  as  hard  as 
a  stone." 

"What  about  truth?" 

"I  swore  by  all  the  gods  when  I  was  planning  the 
worst  treachery." 

"Your  fame,  what  of  that?" 

"  I  disregarded  it  compared  to  the  glories  I  could  con- 
jure up  by  a  dram." 

"And  your  country,  of  which  at  one  time  you  were 
such  an  ornament?" 

"Never  was  I  so  patriotic  as  in  my  cups,  and  no  one 
could  wave  a  flag  better  than  I  when  I  tarnished  it  most." 

"Did  you  have  many  reactions?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  and  many  of  them  were  quite  long  ones." 

"Could  you  work  between  whiles?" 

"Not  well,  and  each  time  I  had  less  zest  and  grew 
more  quickly  tired." 

"Did  money  play  a  part  in  the  business?" 

"Yes,  but  not  for  myself.  I  cared  for  it  only  that 
I  might  add  to  the  national  prestige,  though  God  knows 
how  such  a  combination  could  be  effected." 

"Did  you  get  it  honestly?" 

"At  first,  yes;  later,  no.  The  more  callous  I  became, 
and  the  less  scrupulous,  the  more  I  won,  till  everything 
I  touched  turned  to  gold,  while  all  the  time  I  was  privately 
a  villain." 

"How  could  you  manage  this  without  detection?" 


198  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"A  drunkard  can  manage  anything  till  the  final  catas- 
trophe." 

"How  did  this  come?" 

"I  would  rather  not  say.     I  just  disappeared." 

"Is  your  name  cursed? " 

"On  the  contrary,  I  am  quoted  as  a  benefactor  by  the 
public,  though  a  few,  here  and  there,  are  in  the  secret." 

"And  your  inner  being? " 

"Must  I  say?" 

"Every  word  spoken  here  is  voluntary." 

"Well,  then,  my  true  being  was  entirely  another  one, 
and  throughout  the  piece  I  was  longing,  longing,  longing 
for  the  best,  and  admired  it,  too.  If  at  any  moment  I 
had  been  wakened  up  and  asked  my  dearest  wish,  it 
would  have  been  to  see  God.  When  alone,  I  devoured 
every  book  bearing  on  heroism  and  self-sacrifice,  and 
when  I  was  not  lost  in  drink,  I  would  lose  myself  in 
stories  of  the  saints.  In  my  darkest  times  I  used  to 
kiss  my  crucifix  and  talk  to  the  hanging  Figure.  Again 
and  again  I  pledged  myself,  bar  rot,  to  walk  in  His 
footsteps  if  only  I  could  do  so  in  some  forcible  fashion; 
so  I  prayed  and  I  drank,  and  I  drank  and  I  prayed, 
till  I  became  a  horrid  jumble,  though  retaining  a  method 
in  my  madness  and  keeping  an  eye  to  the  main  chance." 

"What  of  the  company  you  kept  and  the  dens  of 
iniquity  you  visited?" 

"No  one  knew  me  there." 

"Did  you  pity  the  poor?" 

"Yes,  by  heaven!  I  did,  for  I  knew  their  trials  and, 
whatever  I  may  have  to  bear,  I  ask  you,  whose  kindness 


THE  DRUNKARD  199 

has  disarmed  me,  to  show  them  still  more,  seeing  that 
it  is  only  natural  so  many  of  them  should  go  under." 

"And  if  you  returned,  what  would  you  do?" 

"I  know  myself  too  well  to  think  I  should  do  other- 
wise, but  at  the  moment  I  don't  wish  to  go  back,  and, 
if,  in  some  way  beyond  my  power  to  divine,  you  can 
make  me  only  decent  and  help  me  to  paint  out  the  past, 
I  will  undergo  my  bit  and  bless  you." 

The  conversation  had  been  painful  to  both  speakers 
alike  and,  as  the  Judge  prepared  to  give  his  decision, 
the  fact  that  a  good  man  may  be  made  sin,  yet  know- 
ing it  not,  rendered  Gethsemane  intelligible.  "I  have 
listened  to  your  words  with  deep  concern,  but  I  am  well 
aware  that  you  cannot  change  your  own  spots  and  that 
the  picture  you  have  drawn  has  been  replete  with  your- 
self. That  you  have  suffered  as  few  mortals  are  called 
on  to  do  I  readily  admit,  but  I  would  gravely  remind  you 
of  the  cruelty  you  have  shown,  which,  in  the  case  of  the 
drunkard,  as  of  the  harlot,  is  allowed  to  pass  far  too 
easily.  To  an  extent  I  admire  your  absence  of  complain- 
ing, but  I  would  impress  on  you  that,  outside  your 
physical  weakness  which  has  become  a  disease,  vanity 
coupled  with  sensation  was  the  true  cause  of  your  dis- 
aster. From  a  child  you  were  spoilt,  which  is  the  root 
of  the  matter.  That  you  could  have  been  anything 
you  liked  you  need  no  telling,  and  your  religious  zeal, 
which  amounted  to  a  frenzy,  was  a  spurious  scaling  of 
the  stars. 

"Get  it  ingrained  into  your  mind  that  drink,  even 
with  you,  was  comparatively  incidental,  and  that  at  the 


200  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

back  of  it  was  this  playing  to  the  gallery  which  found 
its  expression  in  your  magnificent  schemes,  your  gran- 
diloquent talk,  and  later  in  the  tap-room !  This  was  the 
impetus  which  was  driving  you  to  the  streets,  making 
you  an  alien  to  your  own,  and  causing  you  to  affect  the 
lowest  company,  provided  you  could  king  it  among 
minnows.  Self  was  your  master,  and  liquor  was  the 
whip  with  which  it  lashed  you,  till  you  cringed  before 
the  tyrant  and  obeyed  his  lightest  behests.  This  was 
what  made  people  shun  your  presence  and  almost  pray 
for  your  death.  But  you  continued,  until  you  ended  by 
not  caring  a  jot  if  you  could  indulge  in  the  zest  of  domin- 
ion for  ten  minutes. 

"No  metaphor  can  better  account  for  your  present 
condition  than  that  of  one  who,  in  the  early  stages,  was 
fascinated  by  flying  so  long  as  the  aerodrome  was  filled 
with  crowds.  The  sensation  of  the  flight  was  at  first 
secondary  to  the  plaudits  of  the  throng,  and  unconscious 
how  enslaved  he  was  becoming,  he  woke  to  find  that 
no  day  counted  unless  he  went  up.  So  strong  became 
its  hold,  that  he  was  eternally  whirled  through  space, 
nor  could  he  descend  for  a  rest  but  he  must  mount  again 
and  be  driven  through  the  clouds.  The  only  comfort 
remaining  was  that  he  never  wholly  lost  the  clapping 
hands  of  those  who  tempted  him  to  further  trials,  but 
jeered  him  when  he  fell.  They  even  dared  him  to  greater 
rashness,  offering  him  rewards  in  order  to  share  the 
thrill  as  they  held  their  breath,  and  waited  for  the  thud 
upon  the  ground.  You  have  lived  at  the  top  of  your 
bent,  and  your  penalty  must  be  equivalent.  You  must 


THE  DRUNKARD  201 

acquire  the  counter  secret  of  sobriety  and  self-extinction; 
in  a  word,  you  must  give  up  flying  and  you  must  walk 
for  many  a  long  day. 

"The  penance  which  I  inflict  on  you  is  that  you  shall 
count  for  nothing  and,  when  you  open  your  mouth,  you 
shall  have  no  hearing.  You  shall  know  the  anguish  of 
an  impotent  enthusiast,  and  you  shall  painfully  learn 
that  the  only  way  to  better  the  world  is  to  bleed  for  it. 
You  shall  discover  by  daily  contact  with  inebriates  the 
trial  which  you  proved  to  those  about  you.  You  shall 
have  to  listen  to  their  endless  talk  concerning  themselves, 
and  you  shall  be  shut  up  with  those  who  in  their  own 
eyes  are  the  hub  of  the  universe.  Sickened  by  the 
sight  of  it  in  others,  self  shall  gradually  die,  and  it  shall 
be  revealed  to  you  what  you  have  lost  in  your  contempt 
of  woman's  love,  when,  being  unable  to  forget  your 
own  image,  caring  was  impossible.  You  shall  discover, 
through  the  ordinary  medium  of  home  life,  the  value  of 
decency  and  sobriety.  You  shall  find  it  unnecessary  to 
indulge  in  talk  about  the  infinite  as  you  patiently  strive 
to  bring  happiness  to  your  own  circle.  You  shall  cease 
to  pose  when  you  have  learned  the  meaning  of  altruism. 
This  will  no  longer  consist  of  fits  and  starts,  or  brilliant 
endeavours  to  do  great  things  which  shall  be  spoken  of, 
but  in  the  trivial  round,  which  will  give  you  ample  op- 
portunity of  denying  yourself  and  finding  God.  You 
will  be  chary  of  revelling  in  religion,  which  you  can  now 
see  counted  for  hardly  more  than  another,  and  the  most 
vivid  sensation. 

"All  in  good  time  the  degradation  of  the  drunkard  will 


202  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

disappear,  and  in  his  place  shall  be  a  modest,  unassum- 
ing man,  who  shall  seldom  speak,  even  of  his  repentance, 
but  shall  be  more  than  satisfied  if  he  does  his  job.  When 
you  have  been  long  enough  in  your  village,  you  shall 
be  used  for  the  high  purposes  for  which  you  were  des- 
tined by  your  gifts  before  you  allowed  them  to  become 
bizarre.  You  shall  find  in  the  cross  which  you  have  to 
bear  a  joy  you  never  fancied  in  your  wildest  flights. 
You  shall  live  to  bless  your  own  experience,  if  by  the 
plain  relation  of  it,  to  your  confusion,  you  liberate  a 
single  brother  from  the  prison  of  which  your  knowledge 
shall  have  furnished  the  key.  When  you  save  your 
first  soul,  you  shall  be  happy.  No  longer  shall  it  be 
necessary  for  you  to  deal  in  heroics  and  to  rant  about 
heaven.  You  shall  be  there  already." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MRS.    GRUNDY 

A  COMBINATION  of  the  most  correct  and  poi- 
sonous types  made  her  entrance,  without  the 
smallest  perturbation  at  a  situation  which  eluded 
her.  The  first  impression  she  produced  was  that  she 
could  not  hurt  a  fly,  the  second  that  she  could  strangle 
a  child  without  its  affecting  her  precision  or  her  smile, 
arranged  on  a  recognised  pattern.  The  absence  of  the 
emblems  of  justice  surprised  her,  causing  her  to  despise 
the  "person,"  as  she  would  have  called  him,  who  sat  be- 
low the  place  where  they  ought  to  have  been.  Her  dress, 
though  severe,  was  a  la  mode,  her  chief  effort  being  to 
offer  no  temptation  to  the  other  sex,  an  attempt  in  which 
she  was  singularly  successful.  A  comparison  between 
her  and  the  Judge  was  full  of  interest,  and  no  one  but 
would  have  preferred  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  latter, 
rather  than  into  those  of  the  pitiless  lady  who  had  at 
last  come  up  to  receive  as  good  as  she  had  meted  out, 
not  so  much  to  the  guilty,  as  to  the  discovered. 

There  was  an  element  of  tragedy  in  this  struggle  be- 
tween formality  and  frankness,  but  it  escaped  the  female 
Pharisee,  whose  self-possession  was  superb.  Fortunately 
for  her,  she  did  not  suffer  from  nerves,  and  her  anxiety 

203 


204  .      THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

was  not  as  to  her  position,  which  she  regarded  as  un- 
assailable, but  merely  to  do  the  right  thing  whatever 
happened.  Even  she  had  perforce  to  be  honest,  and, 
though  confession  was  impossible  to  her,  she  commenced 
in  a  hard  and  unfeeling  voice  to  make  a  statement  of 
facts  without  prejudice,  and  without  the  faintest  hint 
that  she  could  have  been  worthy  of  blame. 

"I  cannot  imagine  why  I  have  been  summoned  to 
this  place,  or,  if  so,  why  I  have  not  been  invited  to  sit 
on  the  bench  where  a  seat  is  reserved  for  me  in  causes 
celebres  next  to  the  President,  whom  I  often  prompt 
when  he  is  in  difficulty  as  to  his  decision.  From  my 
infancy  I  have  been  brought  up  to  keep  the  world  in 
order,  to  prevent  the  disaster  of  being  natural,  to  crown 
success  with  laurels,  to  tread  the  fallen  under  foot,  and 
to  have  no  pity  on  deviations  from  virtue,  save  in  the 
case  of  the  very  great,  or  in  phases  of  society  where, 
being  good  style,  they  become  a  cause  for  praise.  On 
matters  of  dress  or  of  etiquette  I  am  the  ultimate  court 
of  appeal,  nor  am  I  influenced  by  the  outrageousness 
of  fashion  if  appearances  are  observed.  What  happens 
behind  closed  doors  is  not  my  affair,  but  in  polite  circles, 
so  far  as  externals  go,  I  reign  supreme.  I  have  no  use 
for  the  open  moor,  the  blue  sky,  or  the  caravan,  though 
of  late  I  have  been  studying  how  to  invade  even  these 
and  spoil  them  by  my  presence.  Whether  I  shall  suc- 
ceed I  cannot  say,  but  I  expect  that,  all  in  good  time, 
the  world  will  be  under  my  sway,  except  the  Arctic 
regions,  which  are  already  so  cold  that  they  hardly 
need  my  freezing  touch. 


MRS.  GRUNDY  205 

"I  have  been  a  great  traveller  in  my  day,  and  have 
found  myself  equally  at  home  at  Court  and  in  the  sub- 
urbs, where  I  have  often  met  with  a  warm  reception,  but 
in  the  slums  they  have  treated  me  with  a  grave  lack  of 
courtesy  and  have  even  pelted  me  with  ancient  eggs  and 
other  missiles,  obliging  me  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  The 
East,  the  cradle  of  truth,  is  no  favourite  haunt  of  mine, 
for  I  regard  basking  in  the  sun  as  incompatible  with  an 
approved  demeanour.  I  have  always  advocated  mar- 
riages on  a  fiscal  basis,  and  have  opened  offices  in  most 
large  cities,  where  I  have  done  a  smart  business;  but  in 
the  villages  I  was  expelled  by  a  dangerous  woman  called 
Dame  Nature,  with  whom  I  have  nothing  in  common. 
I  wish  to  state  that  I  am  extremely  religious,  while  be- 
lieving in  nothing,  but  there  are  few  churches  and  chap- 
els which  I  do  not  frequent,  regulating  my  attendance 
by  the  popularity  of  the  preacher,  the  gorgeousness 
of  the  vestments,  or  the  spiciness  of  the  teaching. 
I  am  by  no  means  in  favour  of  domestic  effusiveness, 
though  I  was  great  on  family  prayers  when  they  were 
the  vogue,  but,  at  the  present  moment,  I  am  doubtful 
on  the  latter  point,  as  they  would  seem  to  be  on  the 
decline. 

"The  young  for  some  reason  rather  dislike  me  and 
even  call  me  prim,  but  I  can  afford  to  be  patient,  as  I  feel 
confident  that,  sooner  or  later,  they  will  change  their 
tone  towards  me  through  the  bribes  which  I  keep  in 
store  for  them,  but  which  they  cannot  appreciate  in 
their  early  years.  I  had  a  better  chance  in  girls'  schools, 
but  regret  to  say  that  these  are  now  revolting,  so  that 


2o6  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

it  would  seem  prudent  to  make  my  escape  before  I  am 
turned  out.  On  the  whole,  I  am  distinctly  depressed, 
owing  to  a  new  doctrine  of  joy  which  is  setting  in,  and 
that  dreadful  woman  whom  I  mentioned  is  trespassing 
on  my  preserves,  which  terrifies  me.  Still  I  am  glad  to 
think  that  I  have  withered  many  smiles,  spoilt  many  ro- 
mances, brought  about  much  despair,  and  broken  on  the 
wheel  many  an  apostle  of  liberty. 

"I  know  how  to  keep  my  place;  and,  if  I  am  to  be 
dreaded  by  ordinary  people,  I  fawn  before  those  in  high 
places,  allowing  them  privileges  and  sensations  which  I 
repudiate  in  the  case  of  the  common  herd.  I  have  im- 
mense reverence  for  blue  blood,  though,  having  no  chemi- 
cal science,  I  cannot  say  precisely  when  the  colour  begins 
to  change.  Public  opinion  is  my  only  god,  and  I  cannot 
remember  having  said  a  prayer,  yet  I  never  omit  to 
kneel  when  occasion  requires.  I  glory  in  having  been 
uniformly  unkind,  and  one  of  my  great  annoyances  was 
an  organ-grinder  for  whom  the  children  dared  to  dance 
and  went  so  far  as  to  be  merry.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
affect  minuets,  stately  music,  and  literature  of  the  dullest 
character,  but  when  a  questionable  novel  has  been 
boomed  by  being  banned,  I  have  later  found  in  it 
passages  tending  to  edification.  I  cannot  pretend  to 
regret  my  conduct,  but,  as  there  is  no  one  present,  these 
proceedings  seem  to  me  to  lack  importance,  and  I  shall  be 
glad  when  they  are  concluded,  if  only  to  give  me  a  chance 
of  attending  several  functions  where,  without  my  pres- 
ence, I  fear  that  they  may  degenerate  into  errors  of 
taste,  and  even  of  happiness." 


MRS.  GRUNDY  207 

The  advocate  was  not  specially  downcast,  though  his 
relations  with  the  prisoner  had  been  out  of  the  common. 
He  spoke  as  one  who  had  been  attached  to  her  royal 
person  officially,  so  that  anything  approaching  intimacy 
had  been  undesired,  and  consequently  impossible.  His 
manner  was  strictly  legal,  and  he  confined  himself  to  deal- 
ing technically  with  his  brief  rather  than  with  the  merits 
or  the  reverse  of  the  accused. 

"I  must  emphasise  the  fact,"  he  said,  "that  although 
the  prisoner  has  made  an  affidavit  which  is  repulsive, 
yet  she  has  accomplished  much  good.  I  contend  that 
the  lady  to  whom  she  has  referred  as  'a  woman'  requires 
a  corrective,  and  that,  if  she  were  not  checked  by  the 
incursions  of  my  client,  the  world  would  fall  into  grave 
trouble.  Not  that  I  think  all  would  be  lost  if  what  is 
called  society  were  to  go  to  pieces,  but  I  would  put  it 
to  your  Lordship  that  masses  have  been  made  moral 
through  fear  of  bad  form,  and  that,  during  the  process, 
they  have  acquired  habits  of  self-denial  which  have  stood 
them  in  good  stead  when  assailed  by  their  emotions. 
I  believe  that  many  have  lived  to  bless  their  term  of 
slavery  to  the  accused,  though,  for  the  most  part,  her 
devotees  lack  imagination  and  are  mainly  suited  for 
dressing  shop- windows.  This  class,  though  large,  may 
be  dismissed  as  unimportant,  but  it  is  only  just  to  say 
that  they  were  as  responsible  for  making  the  lady  as 
bees  for  creating  their  queen.  When  they  had  outgrown 
her,  they  also  treated  her  in  much  the  same  way  as 
obtains  among  those  whimsical  insects.  Meanwhile, 
human  nature  requires  a  moral  policeman,  and  it  has 


2o8  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

been  held  by  more  than  one  that  law  without  love  is 
better  than  love  without  law. 

"Had  it  not  been  for  Mrs.  Grundy,  a  great  number  of 
people  would  have  gone  straight  to  perdition,  but  whether 
that  would  have  been  worse,  or  whether  life  in  Hades  is 
preferable  to  inanition  elsewhere,  is  an  open  question. 
Though  the  prisoner  shows  signs  of  bad  health,  she  has 
by  no  means  arrived  at  her  end,  but  has,  I  am  told,  re- 
markable powers  of  recuperation.  I  would  argue  that 
she  has  not  been  guilty  of  bad  feeling,  for  she  has  no 
feelings  at  all,  being  but  the  expression  of  self-defence 
on  the  part  of  the  successful  and  the  stupid.  True,  her 
ethical  judgments  are  inconsistent,  but  beyond  a  doubt 
she  has  been  an  important  asset  in  the  maintenance  of 
home  life,  in  the  restraint  of  libertinage  and,  given  suffi- 
cient spectators,  in  producing  courage. 

"No  one  can  deny  that  the  accused  has  influenced 
laws  in  the  direction  of  good,  and,  though  the  enemy  of 
evolution,  has  retarded  the  wheels  of  anarchy.  Bo- 
hemia is  her  bete  noire,  but,  save  for  her  presence,  Bo- 
hemia would  have  gone  perilously  near  to  becoming  a 
cesspool  and  its  inhabitants  a  rabble.  There  have  been 
times,  my  Lord,  when  I  have  been  grateful  to  the 
prisoner,  and  few  have  attained  to  chivalry  or  good 
manners  but  have  served  their  apprenticeship  in  her 
school.  I  trust  that  I  have  tersely  placed  before  you 
the  worthiest  side  of  my  case,  and,  when  I  contemplate 
the  dangers  of  self-abandonment  and  the  misuse  of 
freedom  by  the  majority,  I  venture  to  hope  that  your 
judgment  will  not  be  averse  to  the  prisoner.  I  would  go 


MRS.  GRUNDY  209 

the  length  of  saying  that  a  capital  sentence  would  be  a 
misfortune,  and  that  a  petition  for  a  reprieve  would  be 
signed,  not  only  by  an  immense  number  of  parents  and 
professors,  but  by  the  specially  tempted  and  by  those 
who  know  that  she  is  probably  their  sole  chance  of  being 
decent.  I  take  it  that  you  will  pay  no  attention  to  those 
who  represent  merely  her  automatic  devotees;  and  now  I 
leave  the  affair  in  your  hands,  as  alone  deft  enough  to  un- 
ravel a  skein  so  tangled  as  to  baffle  human  ingenuity." 

The  Judge's  face  was  that  of  a  philosopher  pondering 
over  the  intricacies  of  a  problem  rather  than  of  one  em- 
ployed in  deciding  the  fate  of  a  human  being.  In  the 
prisoner  he  saw  a  principle  which  forms  an  integral  part 
of  civilisation,  and  he  accepted  the  fact  that  the  more 
complex  it  becomes,  the  more  that  principle  is  bound  to 
exist.  Never  was  there  a  figure  more  antipathetic  to 
his  outlook,  but  his  charm  lay  in  his  being  equally,  if  not 
more  occupied  with  what  was  outside  his  range,  but 
none  the  less  absorbing  in  his  eyes.  Indeed,  he  seemed 
to  curtail  his  sympathies  where  he  was  most  intrigued, 
lest  any  sediment  of  self  should  colour  his  decisions  or  en- 
danger his  courtesy. 

In  this  instance  he  could  give  full  vent  to  his  interest, 
and,  as  he  looked  at  the  accused,  he  pitied  her  for  the 
r61e  she  had  to  play,  realising  that  she  was  necessary  in 
so  far  as  the  race  had  ceased  to  be  simple.  He  was  con- 
scious that  she  was  confined  to  no  age  or  circumstance, 
and  that  she  had  the  key  to  many  a  fair  garden,  though 
the  open  country  knew  her  not.  He  was  accustomed  to 
her  numerous  disguises  and  the  various  aliases  she  had 


210  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

adopted,  not  being  shortsighted  enough  to  regard  her 
present  title  as  more  than  the  outcome  of  a  smug  and 
respectable  moment.  In  other  countries  and  at  other 
periods  she  had  been  more  picturesque,  but  the  spirit 
of  the  world  had  always  followed  on  the  plucking  of  the 
fruit  and  had  commissioned  her  to  be  its  champion. 
When  he  addressed  her  he  maintained  an  impersonal 
attitude,  and  there  was  something  great  in  the  way  this 
mystic  raised  the  drabbest  details  because  of  their  bear- 
ing on  the  welfare  of  humanity. 

"I  wonder  whether  you  have  at  any  time  regretted 
the  work  in  which  you  were  employed,  or  the  lifelessness 
which  you  produced  in  everything  that  was  paralysed 
by  your  presence." 

"For  the  most  part  originality  is  non-existent  among 
my  followers,  but  it  sometimes  seemed,  even  to  me,  vil- 
lainous to  lead  captive  those  who  had  the  germs  of 
glee." 

"Why  do  you  parade  under  the  guise  of  a  woman,  who 
presumably  suggests  tenderness,  or,  at  least,  is  supposed 
to  shed  tears  for  those  whom  she  has  injured?" 

"Because  her  cruelty  can  be  greater  than  that  of  men, 
and  she  can  sustain  her  vindictiveness  longer,  in  spite 
of  the  cries  of  her  victims." 

"Though  your  statement  was  defiant,  would  you 
gravely  assert  that,  having  owned  yourself  to  be  the 
kill-joy  of  your  day,  you  have  effected  good?  " 

"Since  I  take  no  actual  pleasure  in  frolics  or  vice,  I 
am,  to  a  large  extent,  on  the  side  of  the  angels,  provided 
that,  in  their  flight,  they  are  careful  of  their  drapery." 


MRS.  GRUNDY  211 

"What  is  your  position  when  laxity  prevails  and  when 
virtue  is  regarded  as  a  mark  of  want  of  breeding?" 
"I  then  adopt  another  dress  and  join  the  revels." 
"And  when  puritanism  is  to  the  fore?" 
"None  is  soberer  or  more  unctuous  than  myself." 
"How  would  you  briefly  define  your  scheme?" 
"As  I  have  already  outlined  it,  my  scheme  has  been 
to  make  mortals  arrange  their  affairs  by  the  creature 
rather  than  by  the  Creator,  and  care  for  nothing  save 
the  approval  of  their  fellows,  lest  they  should  win  the 
reward  of  Him  who  seeth  in  secret." 

"Do  you  mean  that  each  should  love  his  neighbour?" 
"On  the  contrary,  that  he  should  fear  him,  though 
he  should  lose  no  opportunity  of  getting  the  better  of 
him  when  possible,  and  of  scandalising  him  in  his  ab- 
sence." 

"Have  you  any  apprehensions  as  to  the  verdict  which 
I  may  pronounce?  " 

"None,  for,  though  you  may  express  your  opinion,  it 
has  no  value  for  those  for  whom  you  do  not  exist." 
"What  would  you  say  if  I  condemned  you  to  death?" 
"The  condemnation  would  never  take  effect,  as  an- 
other Mrs.  Grundy  would  immediately  appear,  and  a 
reaction  in  my  favour  would  follow  such  drastic  meas- 
ures." 

The  Judge  then  summed  up:  "I  find  myself  in  agree- 
ment with  much  that  you  have  stated  in  your  evidence, 
and  understand  how  you  represent  a  guild  of  the  super- 
ficial and  less  adventurous,  which  acquits  you  of  per- 
sonal responsibility.  Having  had  much  intercourse  with 


2i2  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

your  friends  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  I  feel  to  a  certain 
extent  at  home  in  your  company,  but  I  have  always  pre- 
ferred that  of  publicans  and  sinners.  It  would  not  be  fair, 
however,  to  disregard  the  righteousness  of  the  former, 
which  has  been  rebuked  before  now,  not  because  of  its 
existence,  but  because  of  its  shortcomings.  I  have  no 
prejudice  against  manners,  provided  they  are  not  over- 
done, and  am  in  favour,  at  times,  of  the  stately  and  the 
dignified,  if  not  adopted  for  effect.  The  reason  I  have 
an  unalloyed  contempt  for  you,  which  would  not  obtain 
in  the  case  of  a  real  personality,  is  that  no  form  should 
be  called  good  if  it  is  only  form.  Your  harmfulness  lies 
in  having  made  men  look,  not  so  much  down,  as  on  a 
level  with  themselves,  which  is  the  more  fatal  to  their 
ever  looking  upward,  so  that  between  you  and  myself 
there  is  bound  to  be  an  unwritten  antagonism. 

"How  it  is  that  your  disciples  have  been  willing  to 
barter  the  Kingdom  of  God  for  such  as  you  I  have  never 
been  able  to  comprehend.  On  your  own  showing,  you 
have  supplied  them  with  funereal  dulness,  but  they  still 
worship  you  as  a  goddess,  and  willingly  allow  you  to 
tread  on  them  with  your  high-heeled  shoes,  or,  as  at 
the  present  moment,  with  your  largish  boots.  I  can 
only  assume  that  the  mutual  admiration  society  of  the 
unintelligent  means  more  to  them  than  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  stars,  the  glory  of  a  gallop,  entrancing  music, 
or  the  sting  of  a  storm  at  sea.  Your  advocate  has  rightly 
pointed  out  the  advantage  of  yourself  as  a  set-off  to  the 
Quartier  Latin,  and  certain  authors  might  do  well  not 
to  forget  you,  while  I  commend  to  your  attention  the 


MRS.  GRUNDY  213 

Press,  which  needs  a  portion  of  you  as  an  antidote. 
There  are  traits  in  your  character  which  I  am  not  above 
admiring,  but  I  implore  you  to  keep  off  the  children, 
to  avoid  schools,  and  to  leave  the  Senate  House  severely 
alone,  lest  there  should  be  a  general  revolt  against  you, 
when  the  ruin  would  bring  you  no  pleasure,  and  the  spoils 
would  fall  to  your  mortal  enemy. 

"It  is  with  that  enemy  I  would  advise  you  to  live,  if 
you  are  both  to  exist  at  once,  and  I  can  imagine  that, 
if  you  and  Dame  Nature  were  to  see  a  little  more  of 
each  other,  it  might  bring  about  considerable  good. 
What  I  would  seek  to  effect  is  your  combination,  though 
I  can  fancy  that  at  first  you  would  find  yourselves  by  no 
means  congenial  companions.  You  would  serve  to  check 
her  wildness,and  she  might  learn  from  you  improvements 
in  her  dress  which  would  prove  some  consolation  to  you, 
though  I  should  be  sorry  if  she  took  you  altogether  as  a 
pattern.  You  could  not  dwell  with  her  long  without 
being  better,  and,  if  her  children  clambered  round  your 
neck,  you  would  one  day  break  into  a  laugh.  You  must 
know  her  to  discover  that,  in  spite  of  her  rough  exterior, 
she  can  smile  as  no  other  woman;  and,  if  you  dare  to 
stay  with  her,  she  can  kiss  away  tears  where  the  ten- 
derest  mother  fails.  Without  a  doubt  she  will  often 
curse  you,  and  you,  on  your  part,  will  hate  her  for  her 
contempt  of  money,  diamonds,  pearls,  and  similar  trifles, 
but  if  you  want  warmth  and  glow  and,  above  all,  com- 
plete understanding,  you  will  find  her  the  most  sympa- 
thetic and  forgiving  of  friends.  She  may  not  pray  much, 
at  least  formally,  and  she  may  frighten  you  by  her 


214  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

tirades  against  the  ceremonies  which  are  the  breath  of 
life  to  you,  but  when  it  comes  to  a  pinch  and  when  you 
are  thirsty,  she  will  give  you  water  from  a  rippling  brook 
and  milk  in  a  lordly  dish.  It  is  beyond  my  power  to 
make  people  love  one  another,  and  to  insist  on  it  has 
often  had  the  reverse  effect,  but  there  is  one  argument 
which  seldom  fails  to  a  person  of  your  type  —  namely, 
that  she  needs  your  help.  Without  you  she  will  de- 
generate, but  with  you  in  moderate  doses  she  will  vastly 
improve,  and  I  close  with  looking  forward  to  the  time 
when  two  of  the  world's  greatest  enemies,  if  separated, 
shall  together  prove  a  valuable  friend." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   CLERIC 

THERE  was  a  strong  atmosphere  of  piety  about 
him,  as  he  faced  the  situation  with  a  calm  and 
dignity  all  in  his  favour.  A  closer  scrutiny 
suggested  less  strength,  while  the  thinness  of  his  lips 
gave  no  good  impression.  His  obstinacy  was  evident, 
and  it  was  clear  that  he  would  not  be  easily  dislodged 
from  his  position.  He  recalled  hundreds  like  himself, 
and  introduced  a  separate  caste  which  was  alien  to  the 
directness  of  the  Court.  It  would  be  difficult  to  explain 
the  sense  of  stiffness  which  he  brought  with  him,  com- 
bined with  an  unmistakable  goodness  that  permeated 
his  whole  being.  His  assurance,  in  spite  of  an  exagger- 
ated humility,  gave  rise  to  irritation,  and  as  he  took  his 
seat  with  exemplary  deference,  he  seemed  unconscious 
of  the  reason  why  he  had  been  summoned. 

He  had  prepared  no  defence,  deeming  it  unnecessary 
for  one  of  his  integrity,  and  no  one  could  have  denied 
him  an  admirable  courage  and  willingness  to  suffer. 
The  importance  of  the  proceedings  was  magnified  by 
the  influence  which  he  had  obviously  wielded,  while  his 
meeting  with  the  Judge,  whom  he  resembled,  yet  from 
whom  he  was  strangely  dissimilar,  created  profound  in- 

215 


216  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

terest.  The  fact  that  he  had  been  out  to  save  his  gen- 
eration was  beyond  question,  but  the  success  or  failure 
of  his  mission  remained  to  be  proved.  The  longer  you 
watched  him,  the  more  you  loved  and  were  repelled 
by  him,  nor  could  you  avoid  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
hardly  so  much  an  individual  as  the  holder  of  an  office 
that  had  been  handed  down  without  a  change  for  cen- 
turies. To  what  country  he  belonged,  it  did  not  even 
occur  to  the  observer  to  ask,  as  all  else  was  merged  in 
his  portrayal  of  religion,  which  was  common  to  every  age, 
and  to  the  most  varied  forms  of  faith.  The  Judge's  posi- 
tion was  rendered  the  more  difficult  since  the  Cleric 
seemed  to  regard  any  punishment  as  almost  a  luxury. 
Penitence  having  been  a  constant  habit,  he  rose  to  make 
his  confession  as  to  the  manner  born,  though  the  notion 
of  being  taken  at  his  own  valuation  would  to  him  have 
appeared  preposterous. 

"I  would  begin  by  owning,"  he  said,  "that  I  am  a 
grievous  sinner,  and  that  I  am  conscious  of  having  left 
undone  much  which  ought  to  have  been  done  and  done 
much  which  had  best  been  omitted.  In  view  of  the 
sanctity  of  my  calling,  my  dedication  to  the  noblest 
ends  and  my  separation  from  ordinary  folk,  I  cannot 
but  feel  that  I  have  fallen  short  in  many  particulars. 
More  than  once  it  has  struck  me  that,  though  I  never 
shrank  from  the  most  menial  tasks,  I  felt  superior  in 
doing  them,  and  looked  down  on  those  towards  whom  I 
assumed  an  abject  attitude,  but  who  were  virtually  in 
my  hands.  From  my  youth  I  was  brought  up  to  look 
upon  myself  as  a  medium  between  God  and  man,  and» 


THE  CLERIC  217 

though  I  preferred  to  remain  poor,  the  better  to  illus- 
trate the  ministry,  I  have  always  held  that  the  power  of 
the  State  was  nothing  to  that  of  the  priesthood,  nor  am 
I  one  of  those  who  believe  in  over  intimacy  with  the 
uninitiated.  I  hope  that  I  have  spared  no  effort  to  save 
a  soul,  but  my  chief  anxiety  was  the  correctness  of  his 
creed.  By  correctness  I  mean  that  it  should  tally  with 
my  own,  having  been  instructed  that  the  secret  of  uni- 
versal Truth  had  by  some  miracle  of  Grace  been  placed 
in  our  hands.  The  misfortune  of  the  pagan  and  the 
fact  of  his  being  in  an  overwhelming  majority  used  to 
distress  me,  but,  as  I  became  more  subservient  to  the 
Divine  Will,  I  ceased  to  trouble  about  these  matters  as 
beyond  me,  and  as  interfering  with  the  even  tenour  of  my 
days.  In  this  I  may  have  been  remiss,  but  I  rejoice  to 
think  that  missionary  zeal  is  on  the  increase,  though  I 
have  little  or  no  use  for  the  vague  enthusiasm  which  is 
sadly  callous  as  to  rites  and  ceremonies  dearer  to  me 
than  the  questionable  benefits  of  civilisation. 

"Not  that  I  do  not  believe  in  Universalism,  though  I 
prefer  the  Greek  word,  and  would,  I  trust,  willingly  offer 
my  frail  body  at  the  stake  in  its  defence;  but  a  dangerous 
conception  of  its  meaning  now  obtains,  and  I  wish  to 
make  it  plain  that  the  term  is  applicable  only  to  those 
who  strictly  adhere  to  the  limitations  of  our  special  body. 
How  it  is  so,  I  cannot  say,  but  this  is  another  of  the  mys- 
teries which  I  would  rather  leave  and  which  have  never 
ruffled  my  equanimity.  My  dear  brothers  outside  the 
pale  call  me  a  bigot  on  certain  points,  but,  as  I  have  re- 
peatedly stated  in  our  Magazine,  I  cannot  for  an  instant 


218  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

surrender  the  keystone  of  our  edifice,  without  which  it 
would  crumble  to  the  ground.  If  a  single  concession  is 
made  to  our  beloved  enemies  in  this  respect,  I  would 
answer  by  an  argument  which  I  hold  to  be  invincible, 
and  which  takes  the  form  of  a  question  —  namely,  Where 
should  we  be?  Concerning  the  fate  of  the  millions  of 
infants  who  have  never  been  subjected  to  baptism,  with- 
out consulting  them,  I  can  only  refer  to  certain  passages 
of  the  Holy  Fathers,  and  cheerfully  add  this  to  the  mys- 
teries to  which  I  have  alluded. 

"I  would  confess  that  I  may  perhaps  have  failed  in 
technical  obedience  to  my  superiors,  but  here  I  would 
dwell  on  the  fact  that  I  did  not  agree  with  them,  and, 
though  this  may  suggest  personal  inspiration,  I  would 
take  refuge  in  the  special  privileges  of  my  office.  I 
hope  that  I  have  never  been  found  wanting  in  rudeness 
when  it  was  my  duty,  but  I  lived  in  troublous  times, 
when  the  laity  threatened  to  encroach  on  our  sacred 
precincts,  and  when  it  was  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
their  place.  On  the  present  occasion  I  am  surprised 
and  even  hurt  at  being  arraigned  before  one  in  whom 
I  am  unable  to  see  the  emblems  of  an  authority  com- 
petent to  deal  with  such  as  myself.  I  should  have 
thought  that  I  had  the  right  to  be  tried  by  one  of  my 
peers,  but  I  wish  to  accept  my  disappointment  with  a 
good  grace,  and  to  listen  with  becoming  respect  to  your 
admonitions." 

The  advocate  braced  himself  for  a  great  effort,  not 
forgetting  that  the  issues  of  the  soul  were  far  greater 
than  those  connected  with  the  material  side  of  life.  It 


THE  CLERIC  219 

was  strange  that  his  friendship  with  the  accused  was 
not  more  intimate,  and,  though  he  undertook  his  task 
with  a  certain  sympathy,  it  lacked  the  personal  touch 
apparent  in  some  of  the  more  human  and,  on  paper, 
more  criminal  cases. 

"I  have  never  known  the  prisoner  well,"  he  said, 
"though  I  have  seldom  been  absent  from  him,  and  he 
has  made  it  a  constant  rule  to  quote  me  as  his  inward 
monitor  and  guide.  Possibly  I  may  be  prejudiced,  but, 
having  taken  genuine  pleasure  in  our  early  companion- 
ship, as  the  years  went  on  I  regret  to  say  that  I  lost 
heart,  and  felt  comparatively  frozen  out  as  his  humane- 
ness decreased.  Nevertheless  I  am  bound  to  be  a  wit- 
ness to  his  virtues,  and  to  an  unselfishness  bordering 
on  self-immolation.  From  morning  to  night  he  was 
engaged  in  good  works,  which  rendered  him  impregnable 
on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  the  fallacy  of  his  position; 
but  the  meekness  of  his  bearing  and  his  willingness  to 
receive  rebuke  disarmed  his  opponents,  and  rendered  him 
a  subject  for  adulation  among  the  devout. 

"I  would  not  imply  that  this  involved  compliance 
with  what  was  not  allowed  by  the  trade  union  to  which 
he  belonged,  but  the  semblance  of  great  lowliness  was 
mistaken  for  the  genuine  article.  That  he  had  the  es- 
sence of  these  attributes  at  the  outset  I  have  not  a  shadow 
of  doubt,  nor  was  he  aware  that  by  degrees  they  became 
an  advertisement,  to  the  disgust  of  many  who  were  striv- 
ing to  rid  themselves  of  their  own  egoism  without  making 
any  fuss.  I  myself  have  often  been  enthused  by  the  un- 
worldliness  and  severity  to  self  exhibited  by  the  prisoner, 


220  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

until  the  fateful  kink  of  clericalism  displayed  itself  and 
drove  me  into  obscurity.  I  could  tell  of  deeds  of  devo- 
tion which  put  his  critics  to  shame,  and,  so  far  as  morals 
were  concerned,  of  a  blameless  life  which  was  a  protest 
against  the  slackness  of  his  age.  His  disposition  had  an 
extremely  sweet  side  when  he  forgot  his  office,  while 
his  tenderness  to  the  sick  or  dying  was  phenomenal.  He 
spared  himself  no  pains  where  there  was  any  sign  of 
trouble,  and,  although  it  is  true  that  he  was  domineering 
and  never  lost  the  manner  of  a  schoolmaster,  he  thought 
nothing  of  sharing  his  meals,  sitting  up  at  night,  and 
wearing  himself  out  on  behalf  of  others.  He  reproached 
himself  for  the  slightest  dereliction  of  duty,  and  would 
have  looked  on  a  'comfortable  living,'  or  the  least  per- 
sonal indulgence  as  a  fall  from  grace. 

"His  mere  presence  cleansed  the  streets  in  his  imme- 
diate neighbourhood,  and  the  purity  of  his  face  inspired 
many  to  aim  at  holiness.  Legends  of  charity  and  kind- 
ness gathered  round  him,  till  he  was  credited  with  mir- 
aculous powers  by  those  who  esteemed  him  as  something 
more  than  man.  He  preferred  to  live  in  a  class  beneath 
his  own,  feeling  that,  like  a  Brahmin,  he  could  afford 
to  disregard  social  distinctions.  His  knowledge  of  the 
world  was  nil,  which  may  account  for  his  contractions. 
So  fascinated  was  he  with  mediaevalism  that  he  chose  to 
wear  blinkers,  and  to  persuade  himself  that  progress  was 
an  invention  of  the  devil.  He  really  believed  that  he 
and  his  ilk  had  the  key  of  knowledge,  though  an  in- 
spection of  his  library  showed  that  his  reading  was  lim- 
ited to  theological  works.  Allowance  must  be  made  for 


THE  CLERIC  221 

his  combative  instinct,  which  caused  him  to  rejoice  in  a 
discussion  as  a  soldier  longs  for  a  scrap.  His  hatred  of 
heresy  approached  a  mania,  though  it  would  be  difficult 
to  define  what  heresy  meant  for  him.  His  master  passion 
was  the  salvation  of  the  world,  but  if  that  world  refused 
to  be  saved  according  to  his  methods,  he  consigned  it  to 
hell  without  a  qualm,  and  his  lack  of  hesitation  prompted 
many  to  adore  one  who  was  certain  of  the  unknowable. 

"If  my  remarks  have  been  caustic  and  my  praise 
problematical,  it  is  because  there  is  such  virtue  in  the 
accused,  and  I  am  so  disturbed  by  the  net  result  of  his 
influence  on  any  country,  that  I  can  only  leave  the  ad- 
justment to  your  Lordship,  whose  charity  covers  a  mul- 
titude of  faults  which  were  never  intended,  taking  into 
account  every  effort,  however  misguided,  to  bring  about 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  among  men." 

The  demeanour  of  the  Judge  recalled  that  of  a  parent 
to  a  child  who  had  not  understood.  He  felt  no  anger, 
since  the  heart  of  the  accused  was  in  tune  with  his  own, 
and  in  his  talk  he  took  it  for  granted  that  the  mistakes 
of  this  would-be  martyr  were  traceable  more  to  ignorance 
and  the  tyranny  of  tradition  than  to  himself. 

"I  should  be  glad  if  you  could  explain  to  me  how  your 
conception  of  life  corresponded  to  facts  as  you  found 
them,  and  how  you  proposed  to  deal  with  the  tragedies 
of  existence  by  your  teaching." 

"I  carefully  abstained  from  facing  the  former,  and, 
as  to  the  latter,  I  was  brought  up  to  consider  that  my 
duty  began  and  ended  with  insistence  on  my  particular 
faith." 


222  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"When  you  say  brought  up,  did  you  always  occupy 
this  position?" 

"By  no  means,  having  been  much  the  same  as  others 
and  enjoying  the  world  to  the  full,  until  I  was  mercifully 
instructed  in  a  training  which  employed  the  interval 
between  the  University  and  my  ordination." 

"Was  it  then  that  you  left  your  manhood  behind  you 
and  learned  to  adopt  a  casuistry  foreign  to  your  nature 
and  to  the  instincts  of  your  country?" 

"My  sole  answer  is  that  we  were  carefully  and  rigidly 
educated  in  doctrines  that  had  been  handed  down  from 
time  immemorial." 

"Did  you  compare  the  longevity  of  other  creeds  with 
that  of  your  own?  " 

"I  can't  say  it  occurred  to  me,  but  I  looked  on 
the  world  as  immersed  in  darkness  until  our  Light 
came." 

"What  was  your  attitude,  for  instance,  towards  the 
Jews?" 

"I  pitied  them  and  always  felt  a  personal  aversion  to 
them,  though  I  supported  missions  designed  to  assist 
them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth." 

"How  would  you  have  known  your  special  truth  unless 
it  had  come  to  you  through  them?" 

"That  is  an  awkward  question,  and  I  must  confess  that 
their  Psalms  have  been  one  of  my  greatest  helps." 

"Did  not  the  law  of  evolution  come  home  to  you,  and 
did  it  not  appear  possible  that  the  relation  of  your  creed 
to  theirs  (from  your  point  of  view)  might  be  as  the  full- 
blown rose  to  the  bud?" 


THE  CLERIC  223 

"An  interesting  metaphor,  though  a  trifle  humbling 
to  those  of  us  who  have  had  the  special  revelation." 

"What  would  you  say  of  Buddha,  Mahomet,  and  other 
well-known  names  in  trie  development  of  religious 
thought?" 

"I  am  afraid  that  they  were  sadly  misled,  and  have  al- 
ways looked  on  them  as  outside  the  fold." 

"Have  you  ever  read  the  Koran?" 

"Most  certainly  not,  though  I  have  heard  that  it  con- 
tains passages  unfit  for  publication." 

"Are  you  interested  in  other  religions  which  affect 
millions  of  your  fellow-beings?" 

"I  think  it  dangerous  to  dabble  in  such  literature,  and 
have  rigorously  avoided  what  might  tempt  me  to  doubt." 

"Would  you  say  there  were  many  religions?  " 

"Unfortunately,  yes." 

"How  many  gods  would  you  say  there  were? " 

"Only  one." 

"Then  how  can  there  be  more  than  one  religion?  " 

"You  are  getting  too  abstruse,  and  I  should  be  more  at 
home  if  we  were  talking  about  our  own,  when  I  could  sup- 
ply you  with  all  the  parochial  details  you  might  require." 

"How  did  you  stand  towards  science,  and  the  difficul- 
ties which  assailed  the  rising  generation  in  believing  what 
you  insisted  on  as  not  only  proven,  but  incapable  of 
expansion?" 

"I  never  ceased  to  warn  the  young  against  any  growth 
in  knowledge  which  might  shake  them  in  the  faith  of  their 
forefathers." 

"Were  you  much  given  to  the  study  of  your  own  Sa- 


224  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

cred  Books,  bound  together  in  a  Volume  which  you  must 
have  held  exceeding  dear?" 

"I  confess  that  I  preferred  a  compilation  of  prayers 
made  by  the  authorities  centuries  ago,  though  it  en- 
tailed regular  reading  of  portions  of  the  Volume  referred 
to  at  stated  hours." 

"I  understand;  but,  to  put  it  plainly,  was  it  this  Book 
which  coloured  your  life  and  was  at  the  back  of  all  your 
actions,  or  was  it  the  Church  to  which  you  belonged,  and 
which  made  you  regard  that  Book  as  secondary  to  its 
commands?" 

"I  would  assert  that  it  was  the  latter  rather  than  the 
former  by  which  I  regulated  my  days,  being  opposed  to  the 
theory  that  these  Sacred  Books  should  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  ignorant  unless  interpreted  by  the  clergy." 

"Did  your  mother  bring  you  up  like  that?" 

"I  cannot  say  she  did." 

"What  was  the  result  of  her  living  on  the  Book?  " 

"The  most  beautiful  life  I  can  imagine,  and  one  which, 
I  regret  to  say,  I  rarely  see  nowadays." 

"Did  you  positively  believe  that  the  majority  of  each 
generation  would  be  doomed  to  eternal  flames?" 

"I  am  afraid  I  did,  but  now  you  put  it  so  baldly,  I 
expect  it  was  no  more  than  a  pious  opinion,  though  I  still 
hold  that,  if  there  be  a  God,  there  must  also  be  a  Hell." 

"In  that  I  agree  with  you,  and  all  who  forget  the 
former  find  themselves  in  the  latter,  though  its  nature 
and  duration  for  them  may  be  otherwise  than  your 
dogmas  implied.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what 
you  thought  of  the  various  forms  of  your  own  creed 


THE  CLERIC  225 

which  were  aiming  at  the  same  goal,  but  through  other 
methods." 

"I  fear  they  were  anathema  to  me  and,  at  times,  even 
worse  —  namely,  vulgar." 

"What  would  you  say  was  the  strongest  influence  in 
your  official  life,  apart  from  the  devotional  side,  on  which 
I  have  no  wish  to  cast  any  discredit?  " 

"We  had  an  excellent  newspaper,  which  effected  our 
union  and  sustained  our  zeal  in  an  admirable  manner." 

"Was  it  conducive  to  the  spirit  of  charity?" 

"On  the  contrary,  or  its  sales  would  have  gone  down 
and  we  should  have  run  the  risk  of  hopelessly  agreeing 
with  one  another." 

"How  can  you  associate  such  an  enterprise  with  the 
Founder  of  your  Creed,  whose  object  was  to  bring  men 
together  and  make  them  love  each  other,  as  the  sole  mark 
of  His  discipleship?  " 

"The  journal  alluded  to  often  spoke  of  such  union,  on 
condition  that  its  readers  adhered  to  its  own  plan.  But, 
if  there  had  been  no  controversy,  our  lives  would  have 
been  dreary  in  the  extreme,  and,  save  for  its  weekly  pub- 
lication, we  might  have  forgotten  that  we  were  continu- 
ally at  war." 

"At  war  with  whom?" 

"With  our  fellow  disciples  who  would  not  accept  our 
shibboleths." 

"Would  you  not  call  that  a  sinister  influence  of  the 
worst  kind?" 

"It  was  patronised  by  the  holiest  among  us,  and  con- 
ducted on  strictly  business  principles." 


226  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Did  it  often  refer  to  the  Book  which  I  mentioned? " 

"I  thought  I  had  explained  that,  if  once  this  Book  were 
read  and  believed  in  by  all,  such  a  paper  could  not  have 
existed,  and,  from  a  party  point  of  view,  we  should  have 
become  disorganized." 

"Did  it  never  occur  to  you  that  such  narrowness  was 
fatal  to  bringing  about  this  communion?  " 

"I  was  of  opinion  that  this  was  alone  obtainable  by 
the  observance  of  one  set  of  rules,  drawn  up  by  holy  men 
of  old  and  insisted  on  without  exception,  however  large 
the  majority  of  those  who  refused,  to  their  own  destruc- 
tion, to  accept  them." 

"Was  your  mind  made  up  on  the  subject  of  marriage, 
or  did  you  consider  the  multitudes  who  suffered  through 
terrible  mistakes  and  were  chained  together  to  their  mut- 
ual damnation?  " 

"I  was  glad  to  think  that  when  the  magic  words  had 
been  spoken  by  us,  who  thus  acquired  dominion  over 
the  home,  no  change  was  possible,  and  any  reconsidera- 
tion of  the  question  was  out  of  the  power  of  those  con- 
cerned." 

And  so  on  and  so  on  ad  infinitum. 

The  Judge  saw  that  to  convince  the  accused  was  hope- 
less, but  in  giving  his  judgment  he  preserved  the  same 
sense  of  pity  for  his  utter  lack  of  imagination,  and  for  the 
gross  conceit  which  characterised  him. 

"I  am  more  grieved  than  I  can  say  at  the  attitude 
which  you  still  maintain,  but  you  are  not  so  much  to  be 
condemned  as  those  who  twisted  your  nature,  when 
you  were  hardly  more  than  a  boy,  and  turned  you  into 


THE  CLERIC  227 

a  machine  for  their  own  ends.  That  men  are  prone  to 
idolatry  goes  without  saying,  and  there  is  little  difference 
between  those  who  worship  the  letter  of  a  book  and 
those  who  adore  a  piece  of  bread  which  they  affect  to  be 
able  to  change  into  the  Creator  Himself.  Both  may  have 
a  considerable  element  of  truth,  but  it  is  incumbent  on 
all  to  realise  that  the  letter  killeth  but  the  spirit  giveth 
life.  It  is  pitiable  that  you  should  not  have  been  more 
intent  on  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  Him  whom  you 
call  Master.  He  was  crucified  not  by  the  bad,  but  by 
the  religious  of  His  day,  because  He  pointed  out  all  that 
was  involved  in  what  they  professed  to  believe,  though 
for  them  it  had  become  hardly  more  than  formalism. 

"True,  the  power  of  your  uniform  among  the  masses, 
especially  in  the  villages,  is  enormous,  but  it  is  on  the 
wane.  The  reason  is  that  you  over-magnify  your  office, 
that  you  are  not  so  simple  or  so  humble  as  you  appear, 
and  that,  when  it  comes  to  plain  loving,  you  act  it  out 
rather  less  than  the  average  man.  This  wretched  in- 
ternecine warfare  is  ruining  your  cause,  as  also  your 
exaggerated  interest  in  questions  which  have  no  refer- 
ence to  life.  When  it  is  a  matter  of  genuine  trouble, 
such  as  abounds  on  every  side,  thoughtful  men  have  no 
use  for  those  who  are  concerned  with  points  that  have 
no  more  bearing  on  actualities  than  the  distinctions 
between  Tweedledum  and  Tweedledee. 

"You  are  too  few  to  afford  to  fall  out,  and, if  you  would 
inspire  men,  you  should  preserve  a  united  front  against 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  which  are  your  only 
real  enemies.  Your  heart  should  be  as  big  as  the  uni- 


228  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

verse,  and  you  should  remember  that  all  souls,  whatever 
their  belief,  are  equally  dear  in  the  sight  of  Him  who 
brought  them  into  being.  You  have  no  right  to  domi- 
nate your  fellows,  or  to  insist  that  their  arrangements 
should  be  subject  in  every  detail  to  your  behests.  Surely, 
since  you  took  what  you  call  'Orders/  your  duty  is  to 
take  them  from  those  set  over  you,  and  it  is  nothing  less 
than  wicked  to  aid  and  abet  the  superstitious  tendencies 
of  men  by  claiming  supernatural  powers  which  you  have 
never  possessed. 

"If  it  is  true  that  confession  is  necessary,  it  should  be 
mutual.  It  is  iniquitous  that  you  should  spoil  the  har- 
mony of  households,  or  get  under  your  thumb  young 
people  at  an  impressionable  age,  making  it  well-nigh 
impossible  for  them  ever  to  regain  that  glorious  heritage 
of  liberty  for  which  they  were  intended.  You  will  dis- 
cover that,  unless  you  allow  men  to  do  their  own  think- 
ing, you  will  soon  enough  disappear,  and,  if  I  might 
advise  you,  it  would  be  to  read  the  Book  of  which  you 
have  spoken  almost  with  contempt,  though,  if  you  really 
knew  it,  and  if  its  spirit  had  entered  into  your  being, 
it  would  do  more  to  bring  about  genuine  religion  than 
any  other  factor. 

"Do  not  think  that  I  underrate  your  special  difficulties, 
or  the  excellence  of  the  personal  life  which  you  led,  but 
I  deprecate  this  introduction  of  a  caste  system  on  which 
you  pride  yourself,  and  which  has  proved  a  pest  wherever 
it  has  prevailed.  I  regard  such  journals  as  you  have 
spoken  of  with  supreme  sadness,  and  it  would  be  a  wise 
rule  to  refuse  to  read  them,  lest  bitterness  should  be  culti- 


THE  CLERIC  229 

vated  to  the  hurt  of  the  common  cause.  If  reduced  to 
facts,  it  amounts  to  making  money  by  doing  the  devil's 
work  of  dividing  the  religiously  inclined,  than  which  it 
is  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  blame-worthy  proceeding. 

"As  for  the  other  religions,  which  are  more  ancient 
and  whose  adherents  are  more  numerous  than  your  own, 
I  can  only  pray  that  you  may  treat  them  with  profound 
respect,  remembering  that  this  one  God,  whom  you 
concede  knows  best,  has  elected  to  speak  to  the  con- 
science of  each  in  language  he  can  understand.  If 
your  Master  means  anything,  He  means  universal,  all- 
embracing  Love,  which  longs  to  bring  men  to  the  Divine 
Heart,  by  whatever  paths;  and  it  is  only  by  a  life  modelled 
on  such  an  ideal  that  you  will  win  the  world.  You  will 
never  do  it  by  dragooning  or  lecturing  or  scolding,  but 
only  by  unvaried  service  and  by  allowing  to  each  their 
personal  freedom,  though  always  holding  up  the  highest 
standards,  for  which  you  are  exceptionally  equipped. 
You  will  do  more  harm  than  you  can  guess  by  permitting 
people  to  worship  you,  whereas,  if  you  wish  permanently 
to  help  your  generation,  you  will  step  down  from  your 
platform  and,  on  a  level  with  your  fellows,  from  whom 
you  also  have  much  to  learn,  gently  persuade  them  to- 
wards loving  God,  which  more  are  desirous  of  doing  than 
you  have  any  notion. 

"I  have  no  penance  to  impose,  except  that  you  go 
back  to  the  world  as  a  wealthy  squire  with  a  wife  and  a 
large  family.  Your  passion  will  still  be  the  good  of  the 
people  on  your  estate,  and  though  a  layman,  you  shall 
take  on  you  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  in  every  possible 


230  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

way  to  bring  them  to  the  only  source  of  true  happiness. 
In  this  you  will  be  thwarted  by  the  parson  (your  own 
nominee),  who  shall  act  the  local  pope  and  shall 
denounce  you  as  far  more  guilty  than  if  you  were  the 
conventionally  wicked  man.  He  himself  being  ignorant 
of  the  meaning  of  salvation,  and  limited  to  providing 
husks  for  his  children,  as  he  shall  call  your  tenants,  will 
declare  it  to  be  outrageous  that  you  should  presume  to 
offer  them  living  bread  hi  words  which  they  can  under- 
stand. As  time  goes  on  you  will  be  driven  to  the  con- 
clusion that  only  a  converted  clergy  have  the  right  or 
the  power  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  if  they  are  such, 
they  not  only  allow  the  direct  action  of  the  Spirit  on 
the  hearts  of  all  who  have  been  born  again,  but  are  deeply 
grateful  for  the  fact.  Your  money  will  be  thrown  in 
your  face,  and,  however  much  you  may  suffer  within, 
your  martyrdom  will  be  unrecognised,  and  you  will  be 
credited  with  trespassing  on  the  preserves  of  the  priest- 
hood, till  the  whole  business  nauseates  you  and  you 
almost  despair  of  making  the  brotherhood  understand. 
Under  such  circumstances  your  discipline  will  be,  with- 
out sacrificing  one  iota  of  the  best  that  is  in  you,  to  carry 
out  in  all  simplicity  the  essence  of  the  doctrines  you  have 
always  taught.  This  will  be  for  you  the  severest  pun- 
ishment, and  it  will  take  you  all  your  time  to  put  those 
lessons  into  practice." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN 

HIS  bearing  was  that  of  a  man  perfectly  at  his  ease 
and  convinced  that  he  was  dealing  with  the 
affairs  of  the  universe.  He  represented  the 
union  of  a  perpetual  smile  and  studied  solemnity  result- 
ing from  long  practice,  and  his  wealth  of  manner  made 
it  difficult  to  believe  that  he  could  ever  be  simple. 
Withal,  there  was  a  coolness  of  demeanour  and  lack  of 
candour  which  told  of  repression,  and  of  his  having  be- 
come more  of  a  machine  than  a  man.  Not  that  he  did 
not  show  every  token  of  courtesy  and  readiness  to  please, 
but,  if  you  had  wanted  a  favour,  the  Partisan  was  the 
last  person  to  whom  you  would  have  gone  unless  with 
the  offer  of  votes  in  exchange.  He  had  a  sangfroid  which 
bid  fair  not  to  be  easily  upset,  and,  if  peace  and  war 
hung  in  the  balance,  he  would  have  remained  unmoved. 
The  effect  was  both  alluring  and  displeasing,  while 
you  would  have  been  hard  put  to  it  where  to  place  him 
socially.  The  result  was  a  masterpiece  of  unreality, 
yet  you  could  not  fail  to  detect  lines  denoting  power, 
and  a  flash  in  the  eyes  telling  of  enthusiasm  without 
inspiration.  In  any  case  unwonted  interest  was  aroused 
as  to  the  causes  productive  of  such  a  type,  whose  very 

231 


232  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

presence  chilled  the  air  and  dealt  a  death-blow  to  schemes 
for  the  country's  good.  Many  other  characters  would 
doubtless  have  been  classed  as  more  wicked  than  this 
astute  spinner  of  plates,  but  for  few  was  it  harder  to 
feel  any  love.  He  observed,  as  was  his  habit,  the  eti- 
quette of  the  moment,  suggesting  that,  so  far  as  he  was 
concerned,  everything  was  in  order.  He  had  served 
on  so  many  committees  that  his  soul  had  been  reduced 
to  a  vanishing  point,  and  he  bowed  with  a  stereotyped 
pleasantness  to  the  Judge,  whose  expression  startled  him 
into  becoming  almost  sincere. 

The  probing  of  the  heart  was  a  new  experience  to  this 
propounder  of  platitudes,  who  had  grown  to  regard  all 
emotions  as  detrimental  to  the  dignity  of  a  great  assem- 
bly. The  idea  of  such  a  person  as  himself  being  sub- 
jected to  the  test  of  truth  was  a  novel  situation,  the 
more  painful  as  the  verdict  rested  not  with  his  constitu- 
ents, whom  he  had  learned  to  manage,  but  with  one 
concerned  with  the  conscience  of  those  brought  before 
him.  All  this  slowly  unfolded  itself  to  the  prisoner,  who 
hated  scenes  of  any  kind,  but  who  at  last  took  in  the 
gravity  of  a  position  which  no  official  urbanity  could 
affect. 

"I  am  here  in  a  Court  of  Law,"  he  began,  "to  which 
I  am  not  unaccustomed,  to  make  a  statement  of  my 
career,  but  I  trust  that,  though  plain  speaking  is  highly 
unpleasant  and  has  for  years  been  foreign  to  my  nature. 
it  may  prove  satisfactory.  I  regret  to  say  that,  when  I 
took  up  politics  as  a  trade,  personal  ambition  was  my 
prime  motive.  I  was  attracted  not  only  by  the  publicity 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  233 

which  it  promised,  but  by  its  honours  and  rewards.  In 
my  younger  days  patriotism  was  for  me  a  strong 
ideal,  but  I  soon  found  it  too  expensive,  as  it  in- 
volved the  martyrdom  of  '  the  mean, '  for  which  I  was 
not  prepared. 

"Coming  from  a  stock  which  required  to  raise  itself, 
and  being  devoid  of  the  gambling  spirit,  I  put  this  at- 
tractive picture  from  me,  though  I  satisfied  my  scruples 
by  the  subterfuge  that  when  I  had  made  a  great  name 
I  might  use  it  for  the  general  weal.  I  inwardly  scouted 
the  theory  of  sacrifice,  and  could  never  adopt  literally 
the  legend  of  One  who,  after  being  condemned  for  a 
criminal,  occupied  a  throne.  The  dreams  of  my  youth 
were  those  of  glory  without  previous  shame.  The  Gos- 
pel, though  the  pathos  of  the  book  never  failed  to  touch 
me,  would  have  altered  all  my  schemes  if  I  had  gone 
further  than  admiring  the  Hero.  Politically  He  inter- 
ested me,  but,  though  I  saw  how  easily  His  Name  might 
be  used  on  a  platform,  the  more  I  read  of  Him,  the  more 
I  became  convinced  that  He  could  not  be  claimed  by 
either  side.  This  is  why  I  laid  the  volume  down,  as  it 
would  have  been  an  awkward  companion  in  the  journey 
which  I  intended  to  make. 

"  Fortunately  for  me  I  had  a  ready  tongue,  what  is 
called  an  excellent  address,  a  heart  thoroughly  in  order, 
and  a  minimum  of  conscience,  so  I  started  well.  I  saw 
plainly  that  I  could  only  make  headway  by  adopting 
certain  shibboleths,  and  I  soon  found  that  honesty  would 
have  landed  me  on  a  cross  bench,  since  I  discovered 
myself  to  be  in  agreement  on  many  points  with  both 


234  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

sides.  To  such  ridiculous  suggestions  I  gave  the  quietus, 
but  this  did  not  prevent  my  indulging  in  fine  sentiments 
about  every  consideration  being  merged  in  the  salvation 
of  the  Empire.  Before  I  knew  it  the  Vox  Populi  be- 
came for  me  the  Vox  Dei,  experts  on  the  subject  hav- 
ing taught  me  that  the  truest  skill  lay  in  detecting  the 
same,  while  professing  to  lead  it. 

"In  the  meantime  I  avoided  contact  with  anything 
which  might  prove  an  annoyance,  for  health  became  in- 
creasingly important,  and  I  had  to  keep  myself  in  perfect 
preservation.  Party  system  prevented  any  attack  of 
nerves.  The  more  automatic  I  became,  the  easier  it 
was  to  consort  privately  with  my  opponents,  each  of  us 
being  equally  callous,  yet  hugely  philosophical  over  our 
good  cheer.  We  became  adepts  at  simulated  enthusiasm, 
and  virtually  entered  into  a  bargain  as  to  which  side 
should  be  in  or  out,  almost  on  the  half-time  principle  in  a 
match.  The  item  of  country  retired  into  comparative 
insignificance,  except  now  and  again  when  we  blazed  out 
into  pretended  fury,  to  the  admiration  of  the  masses,  who 
enjoyed  the  farce,  backing  us  as  supporters  are  apt  to  do 
their  favourites  in  the  ring.  We  had  not  the  remotest 
intention  of  hurting  one  another,  and,  when  the  contest 
was  over,  we  discussed  the  matter  with  perfect  amity 
and  pocketed  our  fees. 

"However  despicable  this  may  appear,  any  other 
method  was  impossible.  Had  we  been  out  for  genuine 
service,  we  should  have  found  it  difficult  to  keep  the  ball 
rolling,  since  we  should  have  arrived  at  our  conclusions 
and  have  had  to  get  to  solid  work  sooner  than  was  agree- 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  235 

able.  I  admit  also  having  thwarted  movements  for 
which  I  had  deep  respect  from  the  moment  that  I  found 
they  interfered  with  party  plans,  allowing  others  to 
suffer  for  principles  which  I  secretly  admired,  while  I 
openly  denounced  those  who  held  them  as  offenders 
against  law  and  order.  I  feel  unable  to  confess,  even 
here,  to  the  tricks  of  which  I,  in  common  with  many  of 
my  companions,  was  guilty,  but  I  think  I  touched  my 
lowest  when  I  mercilessly  trod  on  the  defenceless  and, 
while  so  doing,  was  hailed  as  a  saviour  of  my  country. 

"No  one  need  tell  me  of  the  heroes  in  the  same  House 
who  were  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  and 
who  were  never  mentioned.  When  it  served  my  purpose 
to  deride  them  I  did  so,  with  an  assumed  warmth  which 
procured  for  me  the  gratitude  of  the  public.  I  feel 
ashamed  to  recall  conversations  I  had  with  my  wife 
after  these  exhibitions,  when  she  strove  to  allay  my  mis- 
givings with  the  thought  of  the  honours  which  she 
might  eventually  share  as  the  price  of  my  un worthiness. 
Possibly  if  I  had  been  alone  in  the  world,  I  should  have 
thrown  in  my  lot  with  the  real  men  to  whom  my  honour 
inclined  me,  but,  though  I  was  officially  opposed  to  fe- 
male domination,  I  am  by  no  means  sure  that  my  poli- 
tics were  not  somewhat  coloured  by  home  influence.  If 
I  were  asked  whether  I  repent,  I  should  say  that,  having 
become  insensible  to  the  spur  of  noble  impulse,  I  cannot 
weep  unless  the  word  has  been  passed  round  from  my 
leaders.  I  realise  as  a  politician  that  I  misused  one  of 
the  greatest  trusts  which  can  be  put  into  a  man's  hands, 
and  from  my  heart  I  wish  some  chance  of  redemption 


236  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

might  be  afforded  me,  though,  if  I  were  to  repent  pub- 
licly, I  should  not  be  heard  of  again. 

"With  a  wave  of  sincerity  which  takes  me  off  my  feet, 
I  accuse  myself  of  having  been  an  eloquent  charlatan, 
and  nothing  more.  Unintentionally  I  have  been  ruined 
by  my  gifts,  while  the  world  looms  larger  for  me  than 
ever  it  used  to  do.  The  seductions  of  good  living,  the 
snares  of  notoriety,  and  the  fascination  of  the  limelight 
have  caused  me  to  forget  the  zeal  in  which  I  once  in- 
dulged. When  I  recall  how  easily  I  was  affected  by 
pain  and  how  I  burned  to  become  the  champion  of  every 
noble  cause,  I  hang  down  my  head  with  shame  to  think 
to  what  I  have  reduced  myself  in  the  pursuit  of  power. 
Witnessing  as  I  did  that  main  principles  were  at  a  dis- 
count, and  that  everything  fell  flat  unless  rivalry  was 
imported  into  it,  I  saw  that  there  was  no  place  for  meek- 
ness in  one  who  desired  to  get  to  the  top  of  the  ladder. 
This  is  why  I  sounded  the  battle-cry  of  Party  and  did 
my  best  to  make  my  voice  ring  throughout  the  land, 
though  I  was  not  half  so  earnest  nor  half  so  keen  as  when 
I  knelt  in  our  simple  home  and  pleaded  that  I  might  one 
day  become  a  patriot.  It  is  clear  to  me  what  might 
have  been  accomplished  had  I  not  been  moved  by  ego- 
ism, and  I  trust  that,  after  hearing  my  tardy  admissions, 
you  will  indicate  a  way  in  which  I  may  be  allowed  to 
prove  my  devotion  to  the  land  of  my  birth,  which  still 
holds  the  highest  place  in  my  affections." 

The  advocate  in  his  address  betrayed  more  emotion 
than  had  been  shown  by  his  client,  except  at  the  last,  and, 
in  defending  the  Partisan,  said:  "I  would  preface  my 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  237 

remarks  by  stating  that  I  have  always  been  the  accused's 
best  friend,  though  it  is  hard  to  recognise  in  the  speaker 
the  boy  who  was  so  lovable.  He  has  become  hardened 
almost  out  of  knowledge,  but  the  feelings  which  he  de- 
nies, though  dormant,  are  more  powerful  than  he  imag- 
ines. I  remember  how  he  dreamed  of  laying  down  his 
life  to  expiate  the  wrongs  which  reason  told  him  demand 
a  substitute  in  every  age.  In  those  days  he  was  an  im- 
mature Curtius,  asking  for  a  gulf  into  which  to  fling 
himself,  and  so  clear-sighted  was  he  that  he  detected 
precisely  where  it  yawned.  It  was  not  till  later  that  to 
his  distorted  vision  this  gulf  appeared  to  have  closed  to- 
gether and  to  be  carpeted  with  flowers,  some  of  which  he 
always  wore  as  a  token  that  all  was  well. 

"I  would  ask  your  Lordship's  indulgence  in  dealing 
with  his  public  life,  with  its  starving  and  gradual  numb- 
ing of  moral  sensibility.  I  would  call  attention  to  the 
great  danger  of  its  rewards,  and  to  the  weight  of  its  re- 
sponsibilities, which,  if  seriously  entered  upon,  have  often 
proved  too  great  for  human  endurance.  The  inconsis- 
tencies confessed  by  the  Partisan  are  intelligible  when  it 
is  taken  into  consideration  how  rarely  any,  short  of  a 
genius,  can  afford  to  be  himself  if  he  desires  ultimately 
to  succeed.  The  question  of  country  receded  all  too 
easily  in  favour  of  party  when  what  had  been  originally 
his  vocation  degenerated  into  a  profession.  I  would 
argue  that  he  has  been  punished  severely  for  this  in  hav- 
ing lost  a  joy  for  which  nothing  could  atone,  and  having 
forfeited  a  rapture  which  is  the  perquisite  of  the  disin- 
terested. This  calls  for  compassion,  and  I  know  that 


238  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

you  will  not  be  misled  by  a  surface  success  which, 
for  a  man  whose  eyes  have  been  opened,  brings  its  own 
doom. 

"The  natural  impulses  of  the  accused  were  higher 
than  those  he  has  deplored,  but,  so  ruthless  is  the  effect 
of  party  and  such  is  the  price  of  exploiting  the  name  of 
Fatherland  for  private  gain,  that  its  victims  cease  to  be 
ashamed  of  its  betrayal,  provided  this  may  add  to  their 
distinction.  I  have  seen  the  Partisan,  on  his  way  home 
after  a  division,  despising  himself  as  he  was  cheered  by 
the  crowd  whom  he  had  been  willing  to  spoil  by  his  or- 
atory in  order  to  gain  their  suffrages,  but  conscious  in  his 
own  heart  that,  if  he  had  told  them  the  truth,  they  would 
have  become  his  enemies.  At  least  he  would  have  felt 
a  man.  I  intercede  for  one  whose  real  self  is  good,  on  the 
ground  that,  had  he  lived  in  other  times,  when  money 
counted  for  less  and  ideas  for  more,  he  would  have  be- 
come apostolic.  Had  there  been  call  for  pluck,  in  which 
he  was  never  deficient,  to  defend  hearth  and  home,  with- 
out distinction  of  party  and  without  room  for  hypocrisy, 
he  would  have  been  among  the  first  to  shed  his  blood  on 
the  battlefield." 

The  Judge  regarded  the  accused  with  respect  for  the 
brilliant  promise  of  his  early  life,  but  with  sadness  at  the 
clouds  by  which  it  had  been  eclipsed.  He  looked  on  the 
Partisan  with  infinite  sorrow  when  he  thought  how  the 
affairs  of  the  city  might  become  a  game  for  personal  ends. 
He  figured  millions  whose  welfare  largely  depended  on  the 
motives  of  legislators,  and  it  came  to  him  that,  unless 
there  was  something  more  than  oratory  or  ability  at  the 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  239 

back  of  their  words,  these  would  die  on  the  passing 
breeze.  He  recalled  exceptions  who  had  been  as  con- 
spicuous for  piety  as  for  eloquence,  nor  was  it  surprising 
that  they  had  swayed  the  hearts  of  the  people  as  wind 
the  standing  corn.  Whatever  their  keenness  as  poli- 
ticians while  they  lived,  so  eminently  in  touch  with 
Heaven  had  they  been  that  their  party  spirit  had  long 
been  forgotten,  but  their  names  were  world- wide  and  im- 
perishable. This  simple  man,  with  no  honours  attach- 
ing, but  with  an  unbounded  love  for  mankind,  was  deeply 
moved  as  he  strove  to  bring  back  the  prisoner  to  the 
visions  of  his  early  days.  His  desire  was  to  reproduce  in 
him  his  secret  longing  to  become  a  public  benefactor, 
which  he  had  endangered  from  the  moment  he  had  first 
spoken  of  it. 

The  following  conversation  passed  between  them : 

"Was  it  ambition  which  led  you  to  enter  public  life, 
or  was  there  an  admixture  of  impulses,  such  as  the  desire 
to  raise  your  family,  and  to  win  the  praise  of  those  whom 
you  most  respected?" 

"I  was  mainly  influenced  by  the  former,  though  my 
temptation  is  to  plead  the  latter,  which  doubtless  played 
a  certain  part,  and  possibly  the  strongest,  after  I  had 
won  my  spurs." 

"How  far  were  you  affected  by  money  in  taking  up 
politics?" 

"Not  originally,  but  later  it  became  a  great  incentive, 
until  I  was  willing  to  sell  my  soul  for  office,  seeing  that 
otherwise  I  could  not  keep  up  the  position  I  had 
reached." 


240  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"How  would  you  account  for  your  change  of  views, 
which,  at  the  time,  was  tantamount  to  a  scandal?" 

"I  regret  to  say  that  I  should  never  have  crossed  the 
House  unless  I  had  been  assured  that  my  chances  would 
be  improved  by  so  doing.  The  fact  is  that  I  soon  looked 
at  every  question,  not  from  the  point  of  view  of  what  I 
felt,  but  of  what  I  persuaded  myself  the  country  wanted. 
Given  such  an  attitude,  it  became  almost  immaterial  to 
me  on  which  side  I  was,  though  I  hate  myself  now  more 
than  I  can  say  for  leaving  my  party  when  it  was  in 
low  water.  I  worked,  however,  immensely  hard  for  the 
Opposition,  having  detected  the  turn  of  the  tide  which 
was  sweeping  it  into  power." 

"Did  you  grow  to  be  convinced  of  its  sincerity  and 
become  genuinely  converted?  " 

"I  can  hardly  say  that  I  did.  By  that  time  I  had 
ceased  to  be  much  interested  in  aught  save  party  tri- 
umph. If  I  was  fully  satisfied  that  our  measures  were 
for  the  public  good,  I  was  still  more  influenced  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  we  who  had  initiated  them." 

"Were  you  hurt  by  the  woes  of  the  poor,  the  disad- 
vantages of  women,  the  discrepancies  between  private 
convictions  and  public  statements,  and  much  that,  to  a 
sensitive  person,  would  have  come  perilously  near  to 
falsehood?" 

"Possibly,  to  a  certain  degree,  but  I  was  a  public  man, 
and  what  my  party  decided,  that  I  accepted,  without 
going  into  sophistries  which  would  render  politics  intol- 
erable." 

"Did  you  love  your  country,  through  talking  about 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  241 

which  you  made  your  fortune  and  achieved  a  standing 
out  of  all  proportion  to  your  merits?" 

"Yes,  in  a  vague  sort  of  way;  at  least  I  was  always 
ready  to  abuse  the  foreigner,  if  it  was  in  the  air,  unless 
there  was  some  Entente  on  hand,  when  it  would  have 
been  absurd  to  look  too  closely  into  the  morale  of  the 
proceedings." 

"Did  you  pose  at  all  as  a  religionist?" 

"Now  and  again.  If  I  remember  rightly,  I  was  more 
than  once  quoted  as  a  champion  of  the  orthodox  Church, 
while  at  another  time  I  was  hailed  as  a  liberator  of  the 
oppressed  from  the  chains  which  she  had  forged  through 
ages  of  superstition  and  fraud.  Needless  to  say  I  was 
on  different  sides  on  these  occasions." 

"Did  you  never  feel  rebuked  as  you  witnessed  the  self- 
sacrifice  of  others  for  the  truths  you  had  once  adored?  " 

"Certainly.  What  I  do  not  seem  able  to  explain 
to  myself  is  that  I  daily  became  less  susceptible  of  a  loy- 
alty which  would  have  landed  me  in  a  minority  of  one, 
if  I  had  been  true  to  the  inward  voices." 

"How  did  you  reconcile  your  conscience  to  the  subter- 
fuge of  pretending  to  lead  public  opinion  while  being  led 
by  it,  as  appears  in  your  confession?" 

"When  I  heard  such  a  doctrine  for  the  first  time  from 
a  prominent  statesman,  I  spurned  it  for  what  it  was 
worth,  yet  I  not  only  grew  accustomed  to  it  but  soon 
became  one  of  its  foremost  exponents." 

"Were  you  not  ashamed  to  regulate  your  sentiments 
by  your  audiences,  while  you  knew  that  you  were  deny- 
ing your  private  revelations?" 


242  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"I  confess  that  I  thought  only  of  my  victories,  and 
so  intoxicated  was  I  with  applause  that  I  should  have 
thrust  aside  everything  that  threatened  my  place  as  an 
idol  of  the  people." 

"Would  you  say  that,  after  this  brief  examination, 
you  are  reduced  to  anything  like  repentance?  " 

"Such  an  expression  would,  I  think,  be  premature,  but 
1  begin  to  see  the  unwisdom  of  my  plan,  not  so  much 
from  personal  sorrow,  as  from  the  fact  that  my  influence 
was  superficial,  and  that  my  name  is  bound  to  be  for- 
gotten." 

"And  why  should  it  be  forgotten?  " 

"Because  the  foundation  was  wrong,  and  because  in 
my  inmost  heart  I  am  conscious  that,  if  I  had  had  the 
courage  of  my  convictions,  my  country  would  have  stood 
first  and  I  should  have  been  content  to  be  unknown." 

"  What  is  it  you  care  for  most  at  the  present  moment?  " 

"The  welfare  of  the  poor,  which  I  have  exploited  for 
my  own  purposes,  and  the  justice  which  I  denied  because 
I  held  it  would  not  pay." 

"Would  you  be  glad  to  return  and,  in  the  same  place, 
stand  up  for  those  same  convictions,  though  they  landed 
you  on  the  cross?" 

"Forgive  my  answer,  but  I  have  had  more  than 
enough  of  public  life,  preferring,  if  you  can  so  arrange  it, 
that,  without  further  risk  to  my  vanity,  I  may  serve  that 
same  country  without  mention  of  my  name." 

The  Judge  regarded  the  Partisan  with  respect  for  his 
early  intentions.  There  was  little  anger  in  his  words, 
knowing  as  he  did  that  the  accused  had  been  morally 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  243 

mad  for  a  series  of  years,  and  he  measured  to  a  nicety 
the  anguish  of  a  public  person  in  being  shorn  of  his  self- 
esteem.  He  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  cost  of  his  con- 
fession to  the  prisoner,  therefore  he  looked  on  it  as  almost 
a  sufficient  sentence  that  he  should  have  been  in  the 
dock.  Such  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  Judge  was 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that  he  himself  had  tasted  fleeting 
praise,  and  had  the  unique  gift  of  being  made  all  things 
to  all  men.  For  the  moment  the  Partisan  was  to  him  as 
Dagon  fallen  from  his  pedestal.  This  is  why  he  was  un- 
usually tender,  as  also  because  he  knew  that  the  heart 
of  the  man  before  him  was  in  the  right  place,  and  that  the 
best  democracy  was  the  ground  colour  of  his  being.  So 
careful  had  he  been  in  this  regard  that  he  had  long  felt 
the  need  of  being  alone,  and,  after  any  days  of  special 
achievement,  he  would  consecrate  the  nights  to  commun- 
ing with  Heaven  that  he  might  retain  a  sense  of  his  own 
dependence. 

"Further  rebuke,"  he  said,  "would  only  serve  to  re- 
vive the  combative  in  your  nature,  and  to  render  you 
more  aggressive.  The  thunders  of  Sinai  could  never 
meet  your  case,  but  coals  of  fire  are  needed  to  burn  away 
the  alloy  which  accrued  from  your  contact  with  the 
crowd.  Into  that  crowd  you  stepped  from  the  shelter 
of  your  home  to  do  battle  with  wrong  in  the  cause  of  the 
oppressed,  but  the  very  gratitude  which  acclaimed  you 
as  deliverer  proved  your  temptation  and  changed  you 
beyond  recognition.  In  face  of  success  it  is  impossible 
to  retain  integrity  without  humility,  and  your  fault  lies 
in  your  utter  forgetfulness  of  the  only  power  calculated 


244  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

to  keep  you  lowly  in  spite  of  your  triumphs.  The  real- 
isation of  your  present  outlook,  compared  to  the  stand- 
ard with  which  you  started,  must  bring  with  it  a  remorse 
to  which  I  have  no  desire  to  add,  but,  with  ah1  respect,  I 
would  convey  to  you  what  you  have  lost  in  your  so- 
called  gain. 

"When  I  think  of  the  weak  you  have  abandoned,  of 
the  words  with  which  you  have  juggled,  of  the  promises 
which  you  never  fulfilled,  and  of  the  needs  which  you 
have  used  as  steps  whereby  to  mount  to  heights  of  your 
own  devising,  I  tremble  that  the  public  conscience  should 
be  subject  to  the  inconsistencies  of  its  heroes.  Not  that 
you  do  not  love  your  nation,  or  ever  loved  it  half  so  much 
as  now,  when  the  possibility  of  proving  it  has  been  re- 
moved from  you.  No  one  knows  better  than  yourself 
that  what  you  require  is  withdrawal  from  the  public 
gaze.  You  must  be  unknown  if  your  self-consciousness 
is  to  be  eradicated.  The  ills  which  have  furnished  you 
with  a  subject  for  eloquence  must  be  transferred  from 
•the  realm  of  theory  to  that  of  fact.  You  must  sample 
them  on  your  own  account,  and  for  a  while  confine  your- 
self to  dealing  with  the  unit,  if  you  are  to  become  less  glib 
in  the  description  of  them  and  less  airy  in  your  pledges 
as  to  their  removal.  To  speak,  even,  of  the  public  good 
is  a  danger  to  you,  but  you  must  privately  pay  the  price 
of  a  sacrifice  far  more  expensive  than  the  verbiage  in 
which  you  have  been  too  prolific.  You  must  know  ex- 
perimentally what  you  knew  only  on  paper,  if  you  are  to 
approach  the  same  high  task  without  preaching  to  others 
and  yourself  being  cast  away. 


THE  PARTY  POLITICIAN  245 

"You  need  not  despair,  for  you  have  been  gifted  with 
rare  material,  and  if  there  is  no  waste  in  nature,  still  less 
is  there  any  in  the  remodelling  of  character.  You  were 
intended  to  lead  and  lead  you  shall,  but  it  will  be  in 
other  directions  than  those  into  which  you  have  been 
diverted  by  the  will  o'  the  wisp  of  self,  under  the  aspect 
of  glory.  When  you  have  been  sufficiently  trained,  you 
will  resume  your  position  at  the  head  of  your  troops,  but 
amongst  them  there  will  be  neither  uniforms  nor  medals. 
They  will  be  mainly  composed  of  the  helpless,  the  dis- 
enfranchised, and  the  downtrodden,  so  that  you  will  be 
jeered  at  for  the  rabble  behind  you.  You  shall  become 
enamoured  of  forlorn  hopes,  though  you  will  cease  to 
use  the  word  when  engaged  on  the  thing  itself. 

"Tired  you  may  be,  worn  out,  and  in  all  probability 
despised;  but  the  only  honours  you  then  shall  covet 
will  be  the  lines  on  your  face  and  the  scars  which  you 
shall  undoubtedly  receive.  Once  more  you  shall  be 
thrilled  at  the  story  of  a  disappearance  by  which  Rome 
was  saved  from  her  enemies,  and  you  shall  gain  some- 
thing more  than  admiration  for  a  Man  Who  knew  no 
party  compared  to  His  country,  which  for  Him  em- 
braced the  world.  Few  characters  shall  touch  such  a 
height  of  joy  when  the  Cross  is  no  longer  amongst  your 
'properties'  but  has  become  your  own  property." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

LA  CROUPIERE 

A  MODERN  type  appeared  in  the  dock.  She  was 
preternaturally  calm,  and  it  was  a  question 
whether  she  was  alive  or  not,  being  in  perfect 
health.  Never  had  there  been  such  an  instance  of  suc- 
cessful unreality,  but  her  effect  was  glacial,  and  the  at- 
traction she  exercised  recalled  the  legend  of  Medusa. 
The  cruelty  of  the  lady  was  effectually  disguised,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  a  stranger  from  regarding 
her  with  unfeigned  admiration.  She  represented  the 
last  word  in  egoism,  being  uninterested  in  aught  which 
did  not  begin  and  end  with  herself.  She  created  at  first 
the  reverse  impression,  as  if  she  were  spoiling  for  a  chance 
of  service.  Though  she  might  have  been  reckoned  un- 
usually passionate,  truth  to  tell  she  was  devoid  of  heart. 
Her  costume  was  perfect,  no  pains  having  been  spared 
to  turn  out  a  masterpiece  of  simplicity  and  seductiveness. 
Her  passive  features  showed  no  trace  of  anything  so 
underbred  as  emotion,  though  she  could  instantly  put 
into  her  eyes  untold  depths  of  feeling  and  tenderness. 
She  was  a  model  of  technical  chastity,  and  led  one  to 
believe  oneself  to  be  in  the  presence  of  a  remarkably 
clever  woman,  whom  one  would  later  have  discovered 

246 


LA  CROUPIERE  247 

to  be  extremely  shallow.  So  little  did  she  give  herself 
away  that  she  might  have  been  taken  for  an  ingenue; 
calculation,  which  was  her  forte,  did  not  reveal  itself. 
It  was  hard  to  realise  that  she  stood  for  one  of  the  strong- 
est, subtlest,  and  most  dangerous  products  of  dollarism, 
and,  though  her  species  had  no  doubt  existed  since  the 
world  began,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  perfected  by 
the  science  of  self-preservation. 

"I  rise,"  she  said,  with  perfect  aplomb,  "to  make  not 
so  much  a  confession  as  a  declaration,  though  I  might 
have  felt  an  impulse  towards  the  former,  did  I  not  re- 
gard life  as  an  affair  in  which  each  is  bound  never  to 
lose  a  point  by  admission  of  wrong.  Frankly,  I  envy 
the  penitent  and  can  imagine  the  relief  experienced,  but 
from  the  time  I  started  on  my  own  I  have  posed  for  a 
Virgin  Mary,  and  the  pleasure  of  evil  has  prospered  in  my 
hands.  To  explain  my  mental  condition  is  beyond  me, 
nor  is  there  any  object  in  discussing  it.  Unaided  and 
unprompted  by  any,  I  sat  down  as  to  a  game  of  cards, 
watching  my  chance  until  I  had  annexed  most  of  the 
tricks;  I  also  saw  that  to  succeed  the  player  must  inva- 
riably keep  cool,  and  that  everything  came  to  those  who 
waited. 

"My  origin  may  to  a  certain  extent  explain  the  spirit 
which  animated  me.  I  belonged  to  a  poor  and  large 
family,  and  was  born  with  the  instinct  of  spending  money, 
which  I  set  myself  to  acquire,  being  careless  of  any  ob- 
stacle that  might  stand  in  my  way.  Clearly  the  item 
of  a  heart,  being  the  chief  hindrance  to  my  design,  had 
to  be  dispensed  with.  I  was  consumed  with  jealousy  as 


248  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

regards  things  objective,  while  the  mere  thought  of 
justice  in  a  world  which  permitted  such  differences  in  for- 
tune had  always  appeared  to  me  a  gross  satire.  I  stud- 
ied charm  as  one  would  study  music,  practising  several 
hours  daily,  until  I  became  well  known  for  my  pro- 
ficiency, but  I  bided  my  time  and  did  nothing  in  a 
hurry. 

"I  married  enormous  wealth,  without  caring  a  jot  for 
my  husband,  and  went  through  the  form  of  telling  him 
so,  conscious  that  this  would  only  irritate  him  into  a  de- 
termination to  compel  me  to  care.  Also  my  coldness 
made  him  the  keener,  while  I  was  fully  aware  that  his 
character  was  despicable,  and  that  my  living  with  him 
would  soon  become  a  formality.  Events  justified  the 
plans  I  had  laid,  and  I  found  myself  in  a  position  where 
none  could  say  me  nay,  but  where  I  was  not  once  tripped 
up  by  the  temptations  which  my  detractors  had  prophe- 
sied would  be  my  ruin.  Naturally  I  divorced  my  hus- 
band, and,  being  rich  and  the  innocent  party,  became 
a  subject  for  widespread  sympathy.  The  standard  I 
adopted  was  a  severe  one,  and  I  was  looked  up  to  as  a 
model  of  outraged  virtue.  I  married  again  in  due 
course,  informing  my  new  choice,  in  nearly  the  same 
terms  I  had  used  before,  that  love  was  impossible  to  me, 
but  that,  having  selected  him  for  his  probity  and  stand- 
ing, I  would  consider  the  change  of  my  name  and  the 
adorning  of  his  house  with  my  presence,  on  condition 
that  no  further  liberties  were  allowed.  He  thought  this 
an  immense  honour  and  went  to  any  lengths  in  his  wor- 
ship, until  I  yielded  and  became  mistress  not  only  of  a 


LA  CROUPI£RE  249 

social,  but  of  an  exclusive  and  intellectual  world  pre- 
cisely to  my  taste. 

"The  wheels  were  perfectly  oiled,  and  there  was  no 
question  of  love,  while  I  had  obtained  two  fortunes 
without  having  felt  one  spark  of  the  divine  passion. 
My  secret  was  to  give  nothing,  but  I  headed  charity 
lists,  and  arranged  my  religion  on  highly  organised  busi- 
ness lines.  I  surrounded  myself  with  men  and  women 
on  the  score  of  their  notoriety,  thus  gaining  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  collector  of  successes,  each  of  whom  believed 
that  his  or  her  speciality  was  the  only  subject  which 
appealed  to  me.  Undeniably  such  a  career  supplied 
enchantment  for  an  epicure,  yet  I  was  careful  to  avoid 
any  hint  of  excessive  display,  save  on  rare  occasions, 
when  the  brilliance  of  the  scene  warranted  a  contrast  to 
my  normal  Quakerism.  I  knew  enough  philosophy  to 
avoid  over-indulgence  in  any  direction,  but  prolonged 
the  sensation  of  my  delights  by  moderation.  Thus  I 
left  the  impression  of  a  pietist  who  was  also  a  patroness 
of  the  arts,  and  whose  mystery  was  increased  by  the  in- 
terest she  took  in  all  new  movements  in  the  field  of  spec- 
ulation. 

"It  did  not  occur  to  me  that  I  was  sinning,  in  fact 
the  word  never  bothered  me,  and  among  my  friends  I 
numbered  many  who  adored  me,  while  my  servants 
looked  on  me  as  a  being  from  another  world.  I  was  great 
at  the  use  of  superlatives,  but  could  become  frigid 
instanter,  knowing  exactly  when  not  to  answer  a  letter 
and  when  to  express  myself  in  redundant  language. 
I  am  conscious  that  men  have  suffered  through  my  fas- 


250  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

cination,  nor  did  I  care  how  long  the  train  of  victims 
became,  but  I  admit,  without  subterfuge,  that  unless  I 
could  call  forth  homage  it  was  a  dies  non  for  me.  I  bat- 
tened on  adulation,  which  had  become  my  prime  necessity. 
"There  is  not  much  more  to  tell,  for  it  would  all  be  in 
the  same  strain,  but  it  may  interest  you  to  know  that  I 
was  personally  pure  as  snow,  and  that  in  my  inner  circle 
were  those  conspicuous  for  eloquence  or  holiness,  their 
claim  on  me  consisting  in  the  fact  that  they  were  con- 
spicuous. If  you  ask  whether,  in  the  process,  I  grew 
fond  of  any,  my  answer  is,  No  more  than  of  my  lap-dog, 
which  I  would  have  replaced  at  a  moment's  notice.  This 
recital  is  doubtless  by  no  means  pleasant  hearing,  but  it 
would  be  wrong  to  conclude  that  I  have  not  done  my 
part  in  making  the  world  passable.  True  that  I  took 
money  from  a  beast,  and  from  another  who  received  no 
return,  but  I  spent  it  better  than  they  would  have  done, 
and  my  principle  was  to  buy  off  the  disagreeable  and 
order  fresh  flowers  every  day.  I  cannot  recall  losing 
my  temper,  for  I  always  had  my  own  way,  and  it  would 
be  hard  to  bring  a  single  witness  to  testify  that  I  had 
given  them  anything  but  pleasure  —  not  that  I  claim 
it  as  a  virtue,  for  I  detested  ugliness  with  all  the  force 
of  my  being.  Having  developed  the  genius  of  pretend- 
ing, I  smoothed  away  the  roughness  not  only  in  my  own 
path  but  in  that  of  hundreds,  so  that  I  can  imagine  no 
better  scheme  on  which  to  pass  a  pilgrimage  which, 
otherwise,  would  have  been  for  me  unbearable,  and,  with 
due  deference  to  the  supposed  Arbiter  of  our  destiny, 
one  big  mistake." 


LA  CROUPlfiRE  251 

It  was  not  easy  to  associate  the  thought  of  an  advo- 
cate with  the  prisoner,  but  he  was  less  disturbed  than 
at  first  seemed  probable.  He,  too,  differed  from  his 
confreres,  and  gave  the  same  sense  of  a  new  world,  out- 
side the  struggles  of  conscience  or  the  dilemmas  of 
honour.  In  sensibility  there  are  as  many  varieties  as  in 
climate,  so  it  was  not  surprising  if  his  arguments  were 
unusually  incisive  and  frigid  for  a  member  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

"One  holding  your  Lordship's  office,  and  with  an  at- 
mosphere all  your  own,  must  find  it  difficult,"  he  said, 
"to  enter  into  the  position  of  the  accused.  Her  view- 
point is  radically  different  from  yours,  so  that  she  stands 
at  a  disadvantage.  Her  absence  of  contrition  has  its 
good  side,  for,  at  any  rate,  there  is  nothing  sentimental 
about  her  strict  adherence  to  facts,  and  she  has  accu- 
rately described  the  situation.  She  can  hardly  be  called 
a  hypocrite,  because  she  has  shown  her  hand,  and  the 
supreme  puzzle  presented  by  her  case  is  that  she  never 
conveyed  the  notion  of  badness,  or  tempted  any  to 
actual  wrong.  That  she  was  refined,  eminently  spir- 
ituelle,  scrupulously  clean,  and  always  ornamental,  no 
one  can  gainsay;  yet  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  her 
selfishness  was  sublime. 

"I  confess  to  having  constantly  been  enthralled  by  her, 
and  seldom  left  her  without  a  grave  doubt  whether  she 
did  not  possess  the  qualities  of  a  saint.  Everything 
about  her  contributed  to  idealism,  and  she  was  an  enemy 
of  Satan  in  so  far  as  she  hated  dirt  and  all  that  was  re- 
pugnant. Whatever  the  motives  at  the  back  of  her 


252  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

philanthropy,  I  contend  that  she  did  it  finely  and  that 
the  worship  accorded  her  might  have  found  a  worse  vent. 
To  be  interesting  is  a  benefaction,  and  to  remain  so  a 
triumph  sometimes  lacking  among  the  pious.  She  al- 
ways cheered,  she  always  charmed,  and  she  always 
chased  away  hideous  facts,  which  were  forgotten  in  her 
presence.  She  served  as  an  incentive  to  nobler  deeds 
than  she  performed,  and  more  than  one  sang  better, 
painted  better,  worked  harder,  and  even  climbed  higher 
because  she  sent  them  away  enthused  in  the  direction  of 
some  great  achievement.  She  was  a  living  rebuke  to 
weakness,  to  hung-down  heads  or  feeble  knees,  and  what 
she  undertook  she  did  so  well  that  mere  contact  with  her 
made  all  wish  to  be  first  in  their  own  line. 

"As  I  look  at  your  Lordship's  face,  I  am  aware  that  I 
seem  over-bold,  but  it  is  to  the  good  that  the  accused 
made  the  loafer  heartily  ashamed  and  determined  to 
become  something  of  a  lion,  if  only  to  get  an  entree  into 
her  society.  However  she  may  have  gained  her  sceptre, 
she  wielded  it  with  dignity  and  acquired  more  power 
within  her  limits  than  the  average  queen,  who  seldom 
receives  more  than  formal  subservience.  If  she  had  a 
passion,  it  was  to  'make  good,'  and,  if  the  epidemic 
proved  catching,  the  race  is  surely  indebted  to  the  germ 
carrier.  Were  I  asked  whether  her  phases  of  piety  were 
genuine  or  aesthetic,  I  should  say  that,  given  the  attain- 
ment of  her  heart's  desire,  she  preferred  indulgence  in 
abstract  religion  to  any  other.  Mental  gymnastics  were 
for  her  caviare,  and  her  strongest  friendships  were  pla- 
tonic,  in  which  art  I  have  never  known  her  equal.  It  is 


LA  CROUPIERE  253 

not  so  much  mercy  that  I  crave  for  the  accused  as  an  ex- 
planation for  which  I  ask  on  her  behalf,  feeling  assured 
that,  though  you  and  she  are  poles  asunder,  the  love 
which  dominates  your  decisions  will  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  tragedy  of  her  life  lay  in  her  conception 
of  it  rather  than  in  its  execution." 

The  following  colloquy  took  place  between  the  Judge 
and  the  prisoner: 

"How  did  you,  as  a  woman,  find  it  possible  to  receive 
money  from  men  whom  you  did  not  respect,  let  alone 
love?" 

"I  doubt  if  I  was  a  'woman,'  which  makes  all  the 
difference." 

"Were  you  troubled  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  money 
was  made,  which  you  probably  knew  perfectly  well?" 

"  I  was  more  affected  by  the  size  than  the  source  of  the 
fortune." 

"Would  you  yourself  have  made  it  by  the  same  means, 
if  it  had  been  in  your  power?  " 

"Certainly  not,  as  my  good  taste  would  have  pre- 
vented me,  though  I  did  not  mind  receiving  it  as  a  tribute 
to  my  talents." 

"Did  you  ever  compare  its  value  with  that  of  honest 
love,  which  you  must  have  recognised  as  the  foundation 
of  true  happiness?" 

"I  did  not  hesitate  as  to  the  relative  value  of  the  two, 
but  regarded  the  latter  as  an  illusion  and  an  overrated 
article." 

"Then  it  was  actually  money  for  which  you  sold  your 
soul?" 


254  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"I  look  on  it  as  begging  the  question  to  assume  that  I 
had  a  soul  to  sell.  What  I  needed  and  what  I  meant  at 
any  cost  to  obtain  was  supremacy." 

"I  presume  you  realised  that  money  in  itself  could 
confer  none?  " 

"That  went  without  saying,  but,  given  the  capital  to 
exploit  my  charms,  I  knew  that  I  possessed  the  attrac- 
tions necessary  to  achieve  the  rest." 

"How  low  would  you  have  stooped  in  your  enter- 
prise?" 

"I  drew  the  line  at  lowliness  and  love-making,  which 
I  considered  to  be  among  the  vulgarities." 

"How  would  you  explain  your  interest  in  good  when 
you  had  gained  what  constituted  your  throne?  " 

"I  found  pleasure  in  the  patronage  which  it  afforded." 

"What  was  your  attitude  towards  God?" 

"It  served  for  the  nearest  thing  to  sensation  of  which 
I  was  capable,  so  long  as  it  was  philosophic,  but  for  some 
reason  the  Gospels  scared  me,  and  I  avoided  reading  them 
as  opposed  to  my  plan  of  living." 

"Wherein  was  the  discrepancy  most  striking?" 

"They  were  too  tender  for  me,  while  I  knew  that  if 
any  one  with  a  brain  were  to  fall  under  the  spell  of  their 
Hero,  the  only  outcome  would  be  to  love  and,  loving, 
to  lose  instead  of  finding  one's  life." 

"Then,  in  spirit,  you  deliberately  crucified  Him 
again?" 

"It  was  a  case  of  crucifying  either  Him  or  myself, 
and  I  chose  the  former." 

"And  this  caused  you  no  remorse?" 


LA  CROUPIERE  255 

"On  the  contrary,  this  decision  brought  me  all  my 
glory." 

"What  was  the  chief  allurement  which  made  it  easy 
for  you  to  commit  this  moral  murder?" 

"I  desired  to  be  worshipped.  If  He  or  any  one  else 
came  in  my  way,  they  had  to  go  to  the  wall,  but  I  must 
be  worshipped." 

"Was  this  longing  always  with  you?" 

"The  appetite  grew  by  eating,  until  the  heavens 
might  have  fallen,  but  I  should  have  been  undisturbed 
so  long  as  men,  and  women,  too,  for  the  matter  of  that, 
knelt  at  my  feet." 

"Were  you  particular  as  to  their  quality?" 

"I  waxed  more  so  as  I  became  more  artistic." 

"Was  your  apparent  concern  with  the  affairs  of  others 
fictitious  or  real?  " 

"More  often  the  first,  but  the  second  in  the  case  of 
those  who  had  won  through  to  the  top." 

"  Did  you  help  many  in  their  projects?  " 

"Only  if  I  thought  they  were  worth  while,  and  if  I  was 
sure  of  a  quid  pro  quo  in  my  association  with  them." 

"What  reason  can  you  give,  then,  for  your  own  fas- 
tidiousness and  for  your  shrinking  from  the  bestial,  which 
made  you  a  recognised  censor  of  morals?  " 

"No  other  than  that  it  pleased  me,  that  I  had  no 
desire  to  be  confused  with  the  common  herd,  and  that  I 
hated  nastiness  of  every  description." 

"And  when  you  felt  physical  pain?  " 

"I  made  it  as  poetical  as  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances." 


256  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Was  the  pain  less  existent  on  that  account?" 

"If  not,  no  one  knew  it;  it  was  part  of  our  cult  to  pre- 
tend bravely,  and  at  least  it  sounded  superior." 

"What  effect  on  you  had  the  misery  of  life  and  the  un- 
happiness  which  you  must  have  constantly  witnessed?" 

"I  rebelled  against  them  and  did  my  best  to  minimise 
them." 

"Do  you  consider  that  your  projects  succeeded?" 

"Better  than  most,  and  on  the  whole  I  have  nothing 
to  complain  of." 

"Would  you  return  to  the  same  existence  if  you  had 
the  option?  " 

"Unquestionably  yes,  though  with  my  present  knowl- 
edge I  should  arrange  my  affairs  on  a  larger  scale  and 
probably  effect  much  more." 

The  Judge  stopped  the  conversation  abruptly,  as 
useless  in  face  of  such  complacency.  His  expression 
conveyed  less  anger  than  despair,  for  he  looked  on  the 
accused  as  one  for  whom  punishment  was  meaningless, 
because  beyond  the  reach  of  feeling.  He  also  understood 
that  any  kindness  on  his  part  would  but  feed  the  vanity 
of  the  subject,  and  the  coldness  of  the  Croupiere  com- 
municated itself  to  him,  giving  to  his  final  remarks  a 
practical  tone  which  was  the  only  one  she  could  under- 
stand. 

"Your  case,"  he  said,  "presents  unusual  difficulties, 
and  I  find  my  sense  of  judgment  partially  paralysed. 
Your  name  exactly  describes  the  deadliness  of  your  deal- 
ing with  others,  while  you  remained  uncompromised 
except  by  your  earlier  coups.  I  listened  with  close  at- 


LA  CROUPlfiRE  257 

tention  to  your  advocate's  plea,  but  cannot  endorse  his 
remarks.  The  achievements  of  your  subsequent  life 
and  the  admiration  you  have  called  forth  on  account  of 
your  cleanness  and  your  charity  are  of  no  value  to  me, 
since  I  am  more  interested  in  the  why  of  actions  than  in 
the  actions  themselves.  I  regret  to  tell  you  that  your 
underlying  purpose  has  cancelled  your  high  talking,  and 
that  your  standing  is  that  of  an  astute  thief.  Your  vir- 
tue, which  passed  for  chastity,  was  by  no  means  due  to 
your  morals,  but  to  your  lack  of  generosity.  It  would 
have  been  less  immoral  to  fulfil  a  bargain  than  to  counter- 
feit contempt  of  the  natural,  which  none  knew  better 
than  yourself  was  involved  in  the  signing  of  the  contract. 
For  this  reason  Circe  and  the  courtesan  are  models 
compared  to  you,  though  in  the  social  world,  which  is 
blinded  by  gold  dust,  you  preserved  to  the  last  a  repu- 
tation that  avails  you  nothing  in  this  place. 

"Your  conduct  was  as  selfish,  hard-hearted,  and  re-, 
pellent  as  can  be  imagined,  nor  should  I  use  such  words 
if  it  had  not  been  deliberate  from  first  to  last.  You  were 
guilty  of  a  capital  crime  in  the  slaying  of  love,  who  is  the 
only  king,  not  because  your  nature  made  you  a  rebel, 
but  because  you  had  either  to  commit  the  crime  or  to 
share  the  sufferings  which  made  him  royal.  This  was 
bad  enough,  but,  having  killed  him,  you  stripped  him  of 
his  garments  and  wore  them  for  your  own,  parading 
before  a  public  all  too  ready  to  use  you  as  an  excuse  for 
mild  imitation  conducted  on  less  wicked  lines. 

"If  you  can  enter  into  anything  outside  yourself,  you 
will  see  that  nothing  more  pernicious  can  happen  to  a 


258  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

woman  than  to  elect  to  trample  on  the  heart,  coupled 
with  the  use  of  feminine  attractions  which  only  excess  of 
heart  can  palliate.  The  sphere  of  your  influence  had 
hardly  any  limit,  and  has  done  much,  even  in  the  re- 
ligious world,  to  evolve  a  type  which  expatiates  on  its 
promises  but  regards  its  penalties  as  a  myth.  It  has 
been  instrumental  in  establishing  what  is  known  as  '  the 
marriage  market,'  and  in  producing  among  the  young 
those  who  excite  to  the  point  of  surrender,  without 
losing  their  heads  for  an  instant,  until  they  have  secured 
a  ring  and  its  attendant  advantages. 

"The  semblance  of  good  which  was  the  chief  weapon 
in  your  armoury  is  now  being  commonly  adopted  by  the 
lowest  and  most  vulgar,  who  thereby  entrap  the  un- 
wary, and,  what  is  worse,  the  devotional,  into  thinking 
that  they  have  found  an  object  for  their  chivalrous 
abandonment.  This  is  the  more  painful  because  when  a 
woman  begins  to  know  the  value  of  gold,  she  begins  to  lose 
her  sex,  and  if  she  continues  in  such  a  course  her  punish- 
ment is  that  she  becomes  petrified.  Without  failing  to 
note  the  value  of  your  refinement  and  your  indifference 
to  pain,  I  would  impress  on  you  that  you  can  no  more 
know  the  first  without  the  second  than  alloy  can  be  got 
rid  of  without  fire.  Hence  I  have  denounced  what  to  my 
thinking  is  more  virulent  atheism  than  that  of  many  who 
are  driven  to  deny  God  through  an  impotent  sympathy 
with  their  fellow  men.  Yours  creates  an  abomination 
of  desolation  that  spoils  your  age  and  results  in  a  cyni- 
cism calling  for  pitiless  retribution. 

"Nothing  remains  for  you  except  that  you  be  driven 


LA  CROUPlfiRE  259 

from  among  men,  that  you  have  the  heart  of  a  beast 
given  you  for  a  while,  which,  though  regrettable,  is 
better  than  that  of  a  stone;  that  you  be  deposed  from 
your  state,  that  your  glory  be  taken  from  you,  and  that 
you  be  avoided  by  all  as  belonging  to  a  lower  creation, 
until  the  time  comes  when  you  lift  up  your  eyes  to  heaven, 
when  your  understanding  returns  to  you,  and  you  dis- 
cover that  you  are  nothing.  Then,  but  not  till  then, 
you  will  commence  to  be  something,  and  you  shall  be 
found  weeping  bitterly,  but  the  tears  shall  bring  about 
your  salvation  in  making  of  you  a  woman. 

"  Gradually  your  heart  shall  be  reborn,  and  you  shall 
eventuate  the  opposite  of  your  present.  Without  any 
unnecessary  relapse  into  the  lower  side,  you  shall  bow 
your  head  to  the  only  way,  which  God  knew  best  when 
He  made  the  world.  You  shall  find  that,  whatever  the 
direction  of  your  days,  which  shall  be  arranged  by  your 
temperament,  your  chief  characteristic  shall  be  that  of 
giving  and  then  of  retirement.  Be  content.  After  the 
transformation  which  I  have  sketched  out,  you  will  be 
enabled  to  help  your  family  for  the  first  time  —  namely, 
by  the  silence  of  your  sacrifice." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  TRAITOR  —  1915  A.  D. 

HIS  face  was  ashen  pale,  but  its  pallor  increased  as 
the  Judge  recalled  some  one  he  had  seen  before. 
The  hopelessness  of  his  expression  outvied  that 
of  all  who  had  preceded  him,  so  that  none,  compared 
to  him,  deserved  the  term  desperate.  He  was  as  one 
who  could  not  be  comforted,  to  whom  pity  would  be 
the  extreme  of  torment.  Whatever  evil  he  had  been 
guilty  of  had  been  before  Heaven,  and  his  agony  was 
that  of  the  soul.  This  rendered  it  the  more  poignant, 
and  it  was  intensified  by  the  figure  before  him,  whom  he 
feared  by  reason  of  his  mercy.  He  was  the  most  earnest 
person  who  had  stood  in  the  dock,  and  he  more  than  ap- 
preciated the  crisis;  for  some  time,  in  fact,  he  had  been 
rehearsing  it.  Nothing  counted  for  him  save  one  face, 
so  that  the  Court  was  reduced  to  a  dialogue.  The 
loneliness  of  the  man  was  horrible,  suggestive  of  the 
second  death,  which  alone  could  describe  his  misery. 
The  impression  which  he  gave  was  that  of  a  saint  in 
purgatory.  He  gazed  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left, 
but  through  the  face  before  him  into  space;  and  as  yet 
no  consolation  came  to  him  from  the  void. 
The  exhibition  of  a  man  judging  himself  before  his  own 

260 


THE  TRAITOR— 1915  A.  D.  261 

verdict  was  the  more  painful  as  none  seemed  able  to 
prevent  or  alleviate  it,  and  the  tension  produced  was 
similar  to  that  which  occurs  before  the  black  cap  is  as- 
sumed. The  self-accused  became  great  through  its  very 
realism,  but,  after  a  while,  there  stole  into  those  haunted 
eyes  a  look  of  gladness  to  think  that  the  time  of  atoning 
had  come.  He  rose  to  make  his  confession  with  the  air 
of  one  who  had  heard  several  made  to  himself,  and  spoke 
with  a  reverence  and  humility  to  which  he  had  long  been 
accustomed.  No  one  would  have  doubted  but  that 
religion  was  the  atmosphere  of  his  being,  and  the  stings 
of  remorse  were  felt,  rather  than  expressed,  in  his  words. 

"I  rise,"  he  said,  "not  so  much  to  explain,  seeing  that 
you  know  my  heart,  as  to  condemn  myself.  I  should 
merely  plead  guilty,  if  I  did  not  hope  that,  by  making 
acknowledgment  of  my  offence,  I  might  save  others  from 
coming  to  the  same  place.  What  I  have  done  is  to  sell 
my  best  friend,  nor  did  I  arrive  at  the  bargain  save  by 
degrees.  The  circumstances  of  my  birth  were  all  in  my 
favour,  and  the  teaching  which  I  received  was  perfect. 
If  there  was  any  fault  to  find,  it  was  that  I  professed 
too  early  what  I  had  later  to  learn  for  myself.  I  had 
breathed  goodness  ever  since  I  can  remember,  so  that  I 
thought  it  was  my  own  by  right,  and  became  an  adept 
in  the  use  of  phrases  implying  experiences  as  yet  un- 
known. 

"Mercifully,  as  it  proved,  I  fell  away  for  a  time  and 
had  to  discover  on  my  own  account  the  power  of  sin, 
from  which  I  had  persuaded  myself  I  was  immune.  I  had 
an  ideal  whose  life  spelt  communion  with  God,  so  much 


262  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

so  that,  being  unable  to  credit  her  with  struggles,  I 
thought  to  start  where  she  had  arrived,  being  ignorant  of 
the  pain  at  the  back  of  her  piety.  She  passed,  and  the 
penalty  of  my  backsliding  was  proportioned  to  my  mem- 
ory of  her.  Little  did  I  realise  how  between  heavenly 
and  human  love  there  was  but  the  breadth  of  a  hair. 
The  stream,  when  it  began  to  flow,  became  a  torrent, 
having  been  dammed  for  years,  and  I  found  myself  in 
the  slough  of  despond. 

"It  was  then  I  met  the  friend  of  my  ideal  and  that  he 
became  my  own.  There  are  few  enough  who  know  the 
meaning  of  Love,  but  my  friend  personified  it.  None  so 
well  as  he  was  fitted  to  heal  one  who  was  at  the  same 
time  both  holy  and  its  converse,  but  as  his  arms  were  al- 
ways outstretched,  the  breadth  of  it  allowed  for  both, 
till  the  last  should  die  away.  Not  one  word  of  rebuke 
escaped  him,  not  even  the  hint  of  patronage,  but,  taking 
the  good  for  granted  and  the  evil  as  non-existent,  he 
drew  me  to  his  heart,  stayed  in  my  house,  and  asked 
me  to  his  board.  For  keeping  such  company  he  was 
upbraided,  and  reports  arose  that  he  connived  at  my 
transgressions,  but  he  was  so  occupied  with  the  music 
of  the  angels  that  he  did  not  hear  these  jarring  notes. 
The  wonder  of  his  kindness  was  in  its  continuance, 
and,  though  the  paradox  in  me  was  persistent,  his  con- 
duct never  changed. 

"The  power  of  human  priesthoods  is  apt  to  wane  and 
finally  to  disappear,  but  that  of  my  friend,  who  held  no 
office,  remained,  being  exercised  in  one  prolonged  bene- 
diction. Gradually  I  grew  to  be  fond  of  him,  so  fond 


THE  TRAITOR  —  1915  A.  D.  263 

that,  apart  from  him,  I  had  no  identity  of  my  own.  He 
soaked  me  with  himself,  and,  whatever  virtue  or  pity 
or  zeal  for  salvage  appeared  in  me,  I  knew  it  was  not  I, 
but  my  friend  within  me.  The  happiness  of  those  days 
was  indescribable,  and,  however  dark  the  present  gloom, 
nothing  can  rob  me  of  their  brightness.  He  had  many 
others  to  whom  he  meant  the  same,  being  everything  to 
each  and  regulating  his  favours  as  their  faults  made  them 
need  him.  What  he  was  or  who  he  was  does  not  matter, 
but  I  knew  what  he  was  and  who  he  was  to  me.  The  joy 
of  it  again  became  my  snare,  as  had  happened  to  me  in 
the  case  of  my  ideal,  who  was  for  me  his  under-study.  I 
forgot  to  watch,  and  I  ceased  to  pray,  being  content  with 
his  company. 

"Then  there  came  to  me  an  angel  of  light  by  whom  I 
was  taken  unawares,  till  he  had  instilled  the  poison  of  his 
words  into  my  inmost  soul.  With  the  subtlety  of  a 
master  in  the  science,  he  pointed  out  to  me  that  my 
friend  was  too  simple  to  succeed  in  saving  the  world,  also 
that  he  was  too  far  remote  from  touch  to  affect  aught  but 
a  few  among  mortals.  He  insinuated  that  my  friend 
led  to  building  castles  in  Spain  and  to  schemes  which  were 
bound  to  fail;  that  there  was  not  sufficient  discipline 
in  his  methods,  and  that  he  forgave  too  easily;  that,  in 
spite  of  his  kindness,  he  would  never  exercise  power  un- 
less he  occupied  an  earthly  throne  and  appealed  to  the 
imagination  by  evidence  of  authority  other  than  that  of 
washing  feet.  He  went  far  to  prove  the  beauty  of  a 
domination,  with  the  appanage  of  a  court,  without  neg- 
lecting the  spirit  of  my  friend's  example,  in  spite  of  its 


264  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

grandeur.  The  angel  of  light  was  careful  to  explain  to 
me  that,  though  my  friend  had  discovered  a  patent,  it 
remained  for  others  to  turn  it  to  commercial  ends,  which 
was  necessary  if  it  was  not  to  lapse.  When  this  system 
had  been  perfected,  using  the  name  of  the  patentee,  the 
whole  world,  in  place  of  a  remnant,  would  be  supplied 
with  salvation  without  undue  inconvenience.  The  cli- 
max would  be  reached  with  my  friend's  coronation  and 
the  adoration  of  mankind. 

"The  notion  appeared  to  me  sublime,  and  to  one  who 
had  failed  before  the  temptation  of  touch  this  appeal  to 
objectivism  proved  irresistible.  I  may  add  that,  in- 
cluded in  the  proposition  was  my  own  promotion,  not  so 
much  in  externals  as  in  popular  esteem,  to  be  used,  from 
first  to  last,  in  the  cause  of  my  friend.  He  promised  me 
perceptibly  less  risk  for  my  morals  and  a  perfect  machine 
for  the  exercise  of  my  good  works.  By  such  means  I 
should  gain  the  ear  of  the  high  ones  of  the  earth,  until 
I  occupied  a  place  hardly  second  to  them,  remaining 
humble  in  private  through  the  teaching  of  my  friend. 
I  saw  the  business  in  it  and  I  succumbed.  Before 
me  floated  a  vision  of  the  world  swayed  by  a  force 
which  should  be  genuinely  catholic,  till  I  began  to 
wonder  how  my  friend  could  have  gloried  in  being  a 
fool. 

"When  the  tempter  saw  I  was  in  his  toils,  he  naively 
added  that  to  bring  this  about  a  small  price  had  to  be 
paid,  and  that  price  was  merely  to  sell  my  friend.  When 
I  demurred,  he  said  that  my  friend  had  a  penchant  for 
pain,  and  that  the  base  of  his  philosophy  was  the  shed- 


THE  TRAITOR— 1915  A.  D.  265 

ding  of  his  blood.  Deftly  weaving  his  snares,  this  devil 
drew  me  on  by  persuasion  that  history  was  not  recurrent, 
that  no  harm  could  accrue  to  my  friend,  and  that  the 
transaction  between  me  and  himself  with  closed  doors 
was  but  a  formality.  The  scales  were  turned  when  he 
touched  on  my  increased  power  for  good  in  the  new 
regime,  and,  before  I  knew  it,  the  bond  was  sealed.  I 
had  sold  my  friend,  just  as  literally  as  did  my  prototype 
from  Kerioth  centuries  ago. 

"Then  came  a  moment  of  reaction  such  as  only  the 
gods  can  solve.  My  friend,  from  whom  nothing  was  hid, 
gave  me  one  last  chance.  He  collected  us  together,  and 
his  sadness  told  me  that  he  felt  the  future,  as  well  as 
grappled  with  the  present.  He  even  showed  me  special 
deference,  but,  when  I  left  the  room,  he  pleaded  with 
the  least  tinge  of  satire  for  no  delay,  though  so  courteous 
was  he  to  the  last  that  he  allowed  it  to  be  mistaken  for 
my  share  in  his  affairs.  The  rest  easily  followed  after 
I  had  dared  to  break  bread  with  my  friend,  though  I 
knew  him  conscious  of  my  design.  To  betray  him  was 
not  difficult,  for  I  knew  his  habits,  and  also  that,  though 
he  might  invoke  countless  hosts  on  his  behalf,  so  meek 
was  he  that  he  would  prove  a  ready  victim.  Soon 
enough,  as  aforetime,  he  was  crowned,  though  it  was 
holden  from  me  that  he  was  never  more  a  king  than 
when  he  bowed  his  head.  My  friend  was  killed,  and  to 
me  was  given  the  price,  with  the  curt  remark  that,  so 
far  as  my  feelings  were  concerned,  that  was  my  affair. 
It  was  I  who  murdered  him,  and  it  was  I  who  loved 
him.  Do  with  me  what  you  will." 


266  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

The  advocate  was  silent. 

"Tell  me,"  said  the  Judge,  "to  what  do  you  attribute 
your  treachery?" 

"To  a  force  wholly  beyond  me." 

"Did  your  friend  ever  warn  you  that  this  force  was 
abroad?" 

"He  often  warned  me." 

"What  made  you  join  the  band  of  which  he  was  the 
chief?" 

"Nothing  short  of  it  could  satisfy  me  after  having 
known  him  through  my  ideal,  and  then  for  myself." 

"Did  you  do  him  good  service  during  that  halcyon 

time?" 

"Yes,  but  it  was  a  dangerous  one,  being  concerned 
more  with  things  than  with  souls." 

"What  was  your  special  charge?" 

"We  had  to  collect  enough  to  live  on,  until  our  daily 
needs  obsessed  me,  and  it  seemed  that  we  should  have 
to  break  up  unless  our  organisation  was  perfect." 

"How  did  the  company  which  gathered  round  your 
friend  get  on  together?" 

"When  he  was  present,  well;  but  when  he  was  absent 
the  passion  for  precedence  set  in." 

"How  was  this  possible  in  face  of  his  teaching?" 

"We  did  not  apply  it." 

"How  was  it  that  his  words  produced  their  effect?" 

"He  spoke  like  no  other  man." 

"What  sort  of  following  did  he  gain?" 

"The  common  people  heard  him  gladly." 

"For  whom  did  he  care  most?" 


THE  TRAITOR  —  1915  A.  D.  267 

"For  the  riffraff." 

"Was  he  ever  angry?" 

"Very  seldom." 

"How  did  he  deal  with  the  fallen?" 

"He  raised  them." 

"How  with  the  blind?" 

"He  opened  their  eyes." 

"How  with  the  dumb?" 

"He  caused  them  to  speak." 

"How  with  the  lepers?" 

"He  cleansed  them." 

"How  with  an  adulteress?" 

"He  honoured  her." 

"How  with  the  rich?" 

"He  pitied  them." 

"How  with  the  Pharisees?" 

"He  flayed  them." 

"How  with  his  accusers?" 

"He  was  silent." 

"Where  is  your  friend  now?" 

"Everywhere." 

"Have  you  been  to  others  to  get  relief  since  the  night 
when  it  was  dark?" 

"To  more  than  one." 

"What  was  their  treatment?" 

"Some  advised  that  I  should  be  handed  over  to  Satan 
for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  my  spirit  might 
eventually  be  saved." 

"Who  first  said  that?" 

"One  who  called  himself  the  chief  of  sinners." 


268  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

"Surely  he  must  have  forgotten  the  clothes  which  were 
cast  at  his  feet." 

"I  have  since  thought  so,  and  that  is  why  they  could 
not  help  me." 

"Did  you  go  to  others?" 

"They  hinted  at  over-sensitiveness,  and  that  I  might 
still  make  it  up  to  my  friend  by  publishing  his  name." 

"And  others?" 

"They  were  so  occupied  with  preparing  stained-glass 
windows  to  perpetuate  my  friend's  memory  that  they 
paid  me  no  attention." 

"And  others?" 

"Their  whole  time  was  taken  up  with  reconstructing 
the  form  which  my  friend  came  to  abolish." 

"And  others?" 

"They  were  quarrelling  among  themselves  as  to  what 
my  friend  meant,  so  they  did  not  hear  my  cry." 

"How  was  it  that  for  the  most  part  none  could  con- 
sole you?" 

"Few  were  as  bad  as  I,  with  my  knowledge,  had  been, 
so  they  could  not  understand." 

"Why  did  you  not  work  out  your  own  sorrow?" 

"It  was  not  godly  sorrow." 

"Did  the  world  forgive  you?" 

"They  greeted  me  as  a  recruit,  but  I  could  not  forgive 
myself." 

"Did  you  not  know  that  your  friend  would  have 
forgiven  you?" 

"That  was  the  agony  of  it,  but  I  had  to  hear  it  from 
his  own  lips." 


THE  TRAITOR  —  1915  A.  D.  269 

"And  your  sorrow  now?" 

"I  know  nothing  save  that  I  have  sold  my  friend." 

"What  have  you  done  with  the  reward  of  your  treach- 
ery?" 

"It  became  as  Dead  Sea  fruit  to  my  taste." 

"Would  you  serve  your  friend  again  if  you  had  an- 
other chance?" 

"I  am  not  worthy." 

"Do  you  believe  now  in  the  vision  which  was  brought 
before  your  eyes?" 

"I  know  that  it  was  a  mirage." 

"What  force,  in  your  opinion,  can  alone  save  the 
world?" 

"My  friend." 

"But  if  he  was  killed?" 

"He  can  never  die." 

"But  in  hell,  which  he  came  to  destroy?" 

"He  is  felt  there  more  vividly  than  anywhere  else." 

"Would  you  say  that  you  were  there  now?" 

"I  am,  and  I  am  not." 

"Are  you  content  to  go  back  there?" 

"I  am  indifferent,  so  long  as  I  can  see  my  friend." 

"Have  you  anything  more  to  say  on  your  own  be- 
half?" 

"Nothing." 

The  face  of  the  Judge  was  drawn  but  radiant,  and  he 
was  glad  to  see  once  more  features  which  were  familiar. 
Down  his  cheeks  coursed  tears  as  the  truth  became 
patent  that  each  act  of  simplicity  invites  one  of  subtlety, 
and  that  Judas  is  a  shadow  cast  by  the  light  of  Jesus. 


270  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

Every  thought  was  lost  in  that  of  winning  back  the 
Traitor  to  what  he  used  to  be,  and  what  he  really  was. 
He  caught  at  even  the  act  of  his  friend  in  entrusting 
the  accused  with  the  source  of  sustenance  as  at  a  straw, 
and  resolved  to  save  this  man  from  the  depths  of  the 
sea. 

"Before  I  pronounce  your  sentence,  I  wish  to  wel- 
come you  home  again,  and  to  thank  you  for  the  work  you 
did  before  you  sold  your  friend,  that  I  find  placed  to  your 
credit.  I  cannot  say  whether  I  rightly  understand  the 
meanderings  of  your  mind  through  which  all  this  came 
about,  but  I  know  that  I  love  you.  Also  I  know  that, 
though  at  the  last  every  ray  was  obscured,  the  sunset 
is  not  the  day.  It  is  not  for  me  to  adopt  the  role  of  the 
inquisitor  or  to  keep  you  on  the  rack;  only  men  do  that. 
My  province  is  rather  to  forgive  all  from  the  moment 
they  love  again,  whether  it  take  a  day  or  a  thousand 
years.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  this  Court 
that  the  best  be  awakened,  after  which  the  prisoners 
pass  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Judge,  whose  office 
is  to  bind  them  back  to  God. 

"I  know,  without  your  telling  me,  that  your  fear  of 
those  who  love  your  friend  is  greater  than  that  which 
you  feel  as  regards  your  friend  himself.  All  in  good 
time  they  will  learn  that  no  man  has  a  right  to  judge, 
and  that,  though  you  did  a  deadly  wrong,  they  also 
caused  him  no  small  grief.  They,  too,  were  ashamed 
of  him;  when  it  came  to  his  trial  they  could  not  afford 
to  know  him  and,  without  exception,  forsook  him  and 
fled.  Any  hurt  which  was  done  in  loyalty  of  zeal  was 


THE  TRAITOR  — 1915  A.  D.  271 

healed  by  your  friend  himself,  so  they  may  be  comforted 
at  the  thought  of  a  mercy  which  is  everlasting.  Some 
day  to  these  companions  you  shall  be  reunited,  when 
they  shall  have  foregone  all  precedence  and  have  be- 
come like  the  little  children  whom  your  friend  used  to 
take  up  in  his  arms  and  bless. 

"They  shall  find  in  your  friend's  new  kingdom  many 
another  band,  as  yet  unknown  to  them,  whom  he  loves 
though  they  call  him  by  another  name.  It  will  be  as 
though  there  was  one  flock  and  your  friend  will  be  the 
shepherd  of  them  all.  Many  of  those  who  professed 
devotion  to  your  friend,  but  nothing  more,  will  also  be 
there,  when  they,  too,  shall  have  got  to  know  him,  but 
at  the  time  they  knew  not  what  they  did.  There  shall 
be  no  need  of  food  there,  for  they  shall  feed  on  your 
friend  and  be  satisfied.  The  light  shall  cast  no  shadow 
there,  for  it  shall  be  in  mid-heaven,  and  its  brightness 
will  come  from  your  friend's  face.  The  danger  of  ob- 
jectivism shall  be  unknown  there,  where  the  spirit  shall 
be  supreme,  and  the  need  of  organisation  shall  cease 
to  exist  where  Love  impels  all.  It  shall  there  be  found 
that  the  saints  were  those  who  made  a  covenant  with 
God  with  sacrifice,  whether  at  the  eleventh  hour,  or  at 
the  dawning  of  their  day.  All  the  other  prisoners  who 
were  broken  on  the  wheel  shall  be  there,  and  each  shall 
be  employed  as  best  suits  the  being  given  to  them  at 
their  birth,  and  mended  by  their  martyrdom  before  their 
arrival. 

"The  tempter's  lie  was  a  half  truth,  which  is  the  worst 
of  all,  when  he  said  that  your  friend  was  destined  to 


272  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

reign.  Of  the  area  or  fabric  of  his  dominion  either  he 
had  no  conception,  or  he  so  feared  it  that  he  suborned 
the  servants  of  your  friend  to  proclaim  it  as  natural  and 
denned.  You  said  your  friend  was  everywhere,  but 
there  will  come  a  time  when  he,  too,  will  retire  in  favour 
of  God  Himself,  who  is  all  in  all,  but  whose  Love  is  such 
that  for  a  little  while  He  became  your  friend,  the  better 
to  make  His  glory  bearable,  and  to  prepare  you  for 
eternity  in  His  presence. 

"You  may  think  I  have  forgotten  your  sentence,  but 
you  have  served  most  of  it  in  the  hell  through  which 
you  have  already  passed.  In  that  new  kingdom  that 
you  did  your  best  to  frustrate,  you  shall  no  longer  keep 
the  bag,  but,  till  you  learn  to  prefer  the  lowest  place, 
you  shall  keep  the  door.  The  penalty  of  seeing  your 
ideal  but  afar  off,  and  of  being  debarred  from  the  active 
business  of  the  King,  will  meet  the  case  of  him  who  sold 
his  saviour.  When  patience  shall  have  had  her  perfect 
work,  and  when  you  shall  want  nothing,  you  shall  be 
summoned  by  your  friend.  Full  opportunity  shall  be 
given  you  of  repaying  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  with 
more  than  compound  interest.  It  still  remains  for 
you  to  undergo  a  greater  punishment  than  has  yet  been 
meted  out  to  any.  Come  hither  and  receive  it." 

The  prisoner,  by  this  time  livid  but  triumphant,  ap- 
proached the  chair  and  knelt  down.  The  Judge  kissed 
the  Traitor. 


ENVOI 

IT  IS  a  relief  when  the  Court  has  risen  and  the  work 
of  the  day  is  done.  The  kindest  Magistrate  must 
be  glad  to  forget  the  sadness  and  dilemmas  with 
which  he  has  been  dealing,  but  the  best  of  them  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that  they  have  had  to  do  rather  with 
invalids  than  with  the  designedly  bad.  To  many,  doubt- 
less, it  must  partake  of  a  routine,  or  the  strain  would 
be  unbearable;  but  their  faces  tell  of  a  sympathy  they 
cannot  disguise,  and  their  whole  being  becomes  suffused 
with  a  pitifulness  unknown  to  ordinary  men.  It  is  a  trib- 
ute to  our  advance  in  humaneness  that  this  type  should 
have  become  so  taken  for  granted  that  the  reverse  is 
exceptional,  and  it  is  refreshing  to  find  that  the  poor 
resort  to  them  for  advice  in  practical  affairs  as  much  as 
if  not  more  than  to  the  parson.  The  parable  speaks 
for  itself,  to  the  effect  that  any  one  who  looks  into  his 
own  nature  must  feel  his  brotherhood  with  all  who  have 
been  found  out.  The  sense  of  contempt,  or  even  of 
distance  between  the  discovered  and  the  undiscovered, 
is  disappearing,  and,  in  its  place,  there  is  a  general  ad- 
mission that  the  germ  of  the  same  tendencies  exists  in 
all.  Certainly  public  opinion  is  vastly  more  considerate 
than  it  used  to  be,  and,  however  gloomy  the  view  taken 
by  pessimists,  every  thinking  person  must  be  convinced 

273 


274  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

that  the  fellowship  of  man  is  being  better  understood. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  this  advance  in  charity  and 
in  the  recognition  of  the  oneness  of  life,  there  is  an  un- 
deniable danger  to  the  laws  of  logic.  Some  would  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  the  loss  of  hell  fire  has  grave  dis- 
advantages, and  it  is  a  question  if,  in  ceasing  to  be 
frightened  of  God,  the  race  is  not  inclined  to  doubt  His 
existence.  As  usual,  the  truth  will  be  found  midway, 
and  it  were  wise,  while  abandoning  doctrines  at  the 
thought  of  which  we  shudder,  to  keep  a  firm  hold  on 
the  need  of  chastening,  for  which  we  learn  to  bless  God 
more  than  for  His  favours.  No  greater  fallacy  can  ob- 
tain than  that  judgment  is  avoidable,  and  the  philosophy 
to  which  we  are  coming  aims  at  a  combination  of  Love 
and  Truth.  Some  day  we  shall  find  that  they  are  the 
same  word,  while,  in  the  scenes  depicted,  we  have  wit- 
nessed them  to  perfection  in  the  Judge.  He,  at  least, 
is  not  subject  to  the  claims  either  of  fatigue  or  formality, 
and  it  is  good  to  know  that  we  have  to  do  with  a  power 
which  has  been  translated  for  mortals  in  the  person  of  a 
Brother.  The  whole  affair  is  deprived  of  melancholy, 
for,  without  burking  facts,  the  impression  left  is  one  of 
limitless  hope  and  of  thankfulness  at  the  methods  por- 
trayed. 

The  habit  of  slurring  over  what  offends  the  taste  is 
akin  to  that  of  hiding  a  coffin  under  flowers,  and  the 
brave  man  will  prefer  to  have  it  out,  not  only  with  him- 
self, but  with  the  evils  of  his  day.  If  the  good  are  the 
salt  of  the  earth,  it  becomes  their  vocation  to  be  sprinkled 
among  the  weeds,  and  a  protest  may  be  allowed  at  the 


ENVOI  275 

prevailing  inclination  to  "cellars, "  which  may  adorn  the 
table  and  improve  the  food  of  a  few.  The  excuse  may 
be  alleged  that  the  salt  is  apt  to  lose  its  pungency  and 
to  become  fitter  for  the  dunghill  unless  the  atoms  are 
constantly  collected  to  regain  their  savour,  but  no  one 
can  deny  that  the  accepted  theory  of  virtue  is  too  often 
associated  with  cowardice.  The  contention  of  the  author 
is  that  the  officially  religious  are  almost  entirely  uncon- 
cerned with  the  issues  of  daily  existence,  and  that,  until  the 
godlike  of  the  race  dare  to  live  in  the  world  without  being 
of  it,  no  reformation  on  a  large  scale  can  be  expected. 

Let  it  be  conceded  that  there  is  as  much  risk  in  the 
rescue  of  a  soul  as  in  that  of  a  drowning  man,  and  the 
majority  will  at  once  own  that  few  of  them  have  ever 
jumped  overboard.  To  do  so  without  being  an  ex- 
pert swimmer  would  be  the  act  of  a  lunatic,  and,  even 
when  in  the  water,  their  prowess  would  often  fail  them 
unless  they  carried  with  them  a  life-buoy.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  the  heroes  who  descend  into  a  mine 
to  save  their  comrades  not  only  hold  their  lives  in  their 
hands,  but,  when  they  are  brought  up  in  the  cage,  bear 
traces  of  their  venture  underground.  No  result  would 
have  been  achieved,  however,  if  they  had  remained  on 
the  top  and  preserved  their  appearance  at  the  expense 
of  the  dead. 

The  foregoing  attempt  to  bring  scenes  which  are  going 
on  every  day  at  our  very  doors,  before  the  best  and  the 
most  sympathetic,  is  a  challenge  to  those  who,  either 
through  ignorance  or  timidity,  affect  indifference.  The 
Judge  was  by  no  means  exclusive,  and,  if  he  had  lived  in 


276  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

a  glass  case,  would  never  have  been  the  prisoners'  friend. 
That  it  may  involve  being  called  names  and  that  stones 
may  easily  be  thrown  is  natural,  but  the  crown  of  our 
Faith  is  that  it  culminates  in  One  who  was  not  only  holy 
but  fraternal. 

Let  there  be  no  misunderstanding  as  to  the  separation 
necessary  for  those  who  would  not  degenerate,  but  the 
entire  notion  of  being  set  apart  for  the  highest  purposes 
is  defeated  by  the  idealist  who  forgets  that  the  value  of 
such  carefulness  is  his  better  equipment  to  help  his  gen- 
eration. That  generation  is  made  up  of  millions  to 
whom  the  thought  of  inspiration  is  a  dead  letter  which 
it  is  his  business  to  quicken.  The  patience  and  reck- 
lessness requisite  speak  for  themselves ;  and,  though  it  is 
eminently  necessary  for  him  to  be  armed,  cui  bono  if  he 
does  not  enter  the  conflict? 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  leave  the  reader  impressed 
with  the  duty  which  he  owes  to  his  brother  man,  without 
for  one  moment  underrating  the  dangers  which  threaten 
association  with  the  world.  It  will  have  done  some- 
thing if  it  serves  to  break  down  the  barriers  of  prejudice, 
and  to  dissipate  the  gloom  which,  at  times,  hangs  over 
goodness  like  a  pall.  It  is  not  advisable  that  the  un- 
initiated should  have  their  eyes  opened  without  con- 
summate care,  or  undertake  burdens  until  they  are 
ready  to  bear  them,  but  no  character  can  be  rightly 
called  "religious"  until  he  has  grasped  the  root  meaning 
of  the  term,  which  is  the  rejoining  of  all  and  every  to 
the  Source  of  their  being.  To  accomplish  this  he  must 
cease  to  talk  of  flowers,  or,  at  least,  he  must  remember 


ENVOI  277 

that  thornless  roses  are  freaks  in  horticulture.  In  a 
word,  there  is  no  lack  of  anguish  or  of  sin,  but  the  art 
of  life  is  to  take  a  leaf  from  the  Judge's  book,  to  face 
the  same  and  woo  its  victims  back  to  their  best,  instead 
of  dragooning  them  into  despair,  or  leaving  them  to 
perish  by  the  way. 

The  interest  of  the  trials  is  chiefly  to  be  found  in  their 
outcome,  and  the  gist  of  the  proceedings  lies  in  the  reme- 
dies suggested  by  the  Judge.  Naturally  the  metaphors 
cannot  be  too  closely  analysed,  and  full  play  must  be 
allowed  for  a  poet's  fancies,  but  it  is  sufficient  if  the 
truth  be  brought  home  that  every  reader  has  his  chance, 
here  and  now,  of  repairing  the  past.  The  whole  scheme 
would  fail  if  such  a  hope  were  merely  a  pious  opinion, 
but  the  writer  holds  it  to  be  profoundly  true  that  every 
human  quality  contains  the  elements  of  its  opposite. 
Godly  revenge  is  denied  to  none,  and  no  greatness  has 
ever  been  achieved  save  through  some  correction. 
Again  and  again  we  require  to  be  broken  up  if  we  are 
to  be  mended,  but  before  the  process  can  take  place,  the 
glass  must  be  held  up  to  us  and  we  must  see  ourselves. 
After  that,  given  such  a  friend  as  presided  over  the 
Court,  no  one  on  earth  need  fail,  but  until  each  does 
battle  with  his  besetment,  nothing  has  happened, —  just 
as  if  one  suffering  from  cancer  were  to  hide  the  fact, 
but  to  take  every  means  as  regards  his  health  in  all 
other  particulars.  Happy  beyond  words  must  the  pris- 
oner be  who,  after  exposing  his  shame,  or  having  had 
it  exposed,  finds  in  the  Judge  both  surgeon  and  physician, 
who  never  lost  a  patient  and  never  took  a  fee. 


278  THE  GRAND  ASSIZE 

The  humour  which  obtains,  even  in  the  dock,  is  no 
mere  effort  to  adopt  a  lighter  side  from  an  artistic  stand- 
point, since,  fortunately,  laughter  plays  its  part  in  our 
passage  through  the  world.  Without  humour  madness 
would  be  the  rule  and  not  the  exception,  and  there  are 
plenty  of  people,  hardly  to  be  ranked  among  the  pious, 
to  whom  great  gratitude  is  due  for  having  added  to  the 
general  gladness.  Bad  times  we  may  and  ought  to 
have,  but  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  happiness,  and  some- 
thing is  wrong  if  fun  is  not  to  the  fore.  Our  friend  with 
the  cancer  has  a  better  chance  of  surviving  if,  what- 
ever he  may  have  to  endure,  he  maintains  his  cheerful- 
ness. When  oil  and  wine  were  poured  into  the  wounds 
of  the  poor  fellow  in  the  ditch,  the  first  no  doubt  was 
intended  to  soothe,  and  the  second  to  make  him  smile. 
There  is  a  deal  of  human  nature  in  everybody;  and,  if 
the  choice  arose  between  a  good  doctor  with  bad  spirits 
and  a  bad  doctor  with  good  spirits,  many  would  select 
the  latter,  and  would  quite  likely  prove  to  be  wise. 

The  sequence  preserved  in  the  cases  recorded  is  not 
accidental.  When  the  Great  Teacher  reduced  the  mys- 
tery of  conversion  to  being  born  again,  He  implied  that 
the  most  accurate  term  would  have  been  reversion  to 
that  from  which  each  started.  The  effort  of  the  Judge 
was,  in  nearly  every  instance,  to  recall  the  magic  of 
earlier  years,  for  which  reason  he  was  insistent  in  his 
references  to  home.  It  would  appear  that  to  become 
healed  is  a  simpler  process  than  is  often  taught,  and  that, 
without  losing  ourselves  in  the  intricacies  of  theology, 
we  should  humbly  strive  once  more  to  occupy  the 


ENVOI  279 

nursery.  There  is  little  difference  between  the  prisoners, 
though  their  settings  vary,  but  the  prevalence  of  ego, 
whatever  direction  it  took,  accounts  for  their  leaving 
the  high  road.  That  the  temptations  of  each  are  so 
different  that  what  is  poison  to  one  may  be  meat  to 
another  is  shown  on  every  page,  but  the  conclusion  from 
which  no  one  can  escape  is  that  the  lips  of  each  must, 
sooner  or  later,  formulate  the  word  "  Peccavi,"  after 
which,  and  only  after  which,  the  Judge  closes  the  affair 
with  the  answer,  "Pax  lecum." 


THE   END 


THE   COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,   N.  Y. 


A     000037150     o 


